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OF 



SPIRITUALISM 



A MANUAL OF 



Spiritual Science and Philosophy, 



BY HUDSON TUTTLE. 



J. R. FRANCIS, Chicago, 111. HUDSON TUTTLE, Berlin Heights, O. 

W. H. TERRY, Melbourne, Australia. 

1904. 






2^ 






• 



386? tbe Same Butbor, 



ARCANA OF NATURE. 

PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIT. 

ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF MAN. 

CAREER OF THE GOD-IDEA IN HISTORY. 

CAREER OF THE CHRIST-IDEA IN HISTORY. 

RELIGION OF MAN, AND ETHICS OF SPIRITUALISM. 

STUDIES IN THE OUTLYING FIELDS OF PSYCHIC 

SCIENCE. 

SECRETS OF THE CONVENT. 

HERESY. 

LIFE IN TWO SPHERES. 

MEDIUMSHIP AND ITS LAWS. 



PREFACE. 

FRAGMENTS OF MY PSYCHIC EXPERIENCE. 



It has been suggested that this volume would be 
better understood if I gave my spiritual experience 
and method of writing. In complying, I exclude 
everything outside my psychic sensitiveness. 

That I was born in what was then a wilderness en 
the southern shores of Lake Erie (Ohio, U. S. A.), and 
for the early years of my life to the time I began to 
write for the superior intelligences had exceedingly 
limited social and educational advantages, may be of 
interest to the readers as showing how the communi- 
cations transcended my own capabilities, and the ed- 
ucation which came with its inspiration. 

No one can write of the vicissitudes, emotions, or 
thoughts of a medium as well as the medium himself. 
By the essential conditions of mediumship, he is sensi- 
tive and easily disturbed by antagonism. What to 
others would be a jest, to him becomes agonizing, and 
he is often disturbed by causes unknown by their sub- 
tlety. The voice of censure is unbearably harsh; a 
word of praise lifts his soul with unspeakable delight ; 
he is a bundle of nerves, tense, sensitive to a breath, 
responding to a touch. These conditions are not of 
his seeking, but are thrust upon him, and he cannot 
cast them off. Like all human capabilities, sensitive- 
ness is susceptible of culture, of intensification, and 
of being lost by neglect or abuse; of yielding un- 
speakable delight or pain. 

Hence, for the medium who has traversed this path- 
way tp clearly present the conflicting impressions he 
experiences is difficult, but important data for the 
Study of the phenomena may be thereby furnished. 



10 PREFACE. 

At an age when the mind is usually absorbed in 
sports my thoughts turned to the great questions of 
theology and religion. This I refer to the fact that 
my parents were 'Unitarians in a community of Trini- 
tarians. Their house was the headquarters for the 
itinerant preachers, both orthodox and heterodox, 
who, on circuits, carried their doctrines into the wil- 
derness, and the atmosphere was burdened with dog- 
matic disputations, based on the literal text of the 
Bible, for the ''higher criticism" was then unknown 
and doctrinal sermons, hot with the fires of hell, and 
terrible threatenings of God's wrath met the popular 
demand. The result was that at an early age I be- 
came sceptical of the entire Church scheme. The 
gloom of doubt was cast over my young life. An- 
nihilation was appalling, yet I saw no escape. They 
who professed to know the secrets, not only of life 
but of death, were in direct conflict on vital issues, 
and their light darkened understanding. Outside of 
their domain there was no assurance. 

Man physically dies like the animal. Death in both 
is accompanied by the same phenomena, and after 
death the chemistry of change resolves the substance 
of each to the same elements. Why should we sup- 
pose the one to be immortal and the other not ? If im- 
mortality be doubted, all dependent dogmas share its 
fate. I was more infidel than Paine, for I doubted 
everything. 

The beginning of my doubts may be dated to an 
accident which befell me, and my application of the 
prayer test. I had been brought up to pray every 
night before retiring, as a duty which must not be 
neglected. When I was near ten years old I was set 
to spreading hay after the mowers, and was given a 
steel fork, because I was not strong enough to use a 
wooden one. In those days such a fork was a treas- 
ure, and I was strictly charged to be careful of it. 
All went well, and I kept near the gleaming scythes. 
Then I fell behind, further and further. Suddenly a 
snake darted over the swarthe. Filled with that her- 
editary hatred which has been instilled for countless 
generations against the serpent, I struck at it with 
the fork. I gave it no harm, but one tine of the.fork 
snapped short. I was overwhelmed with fear. My 



PREFACE. 11 

father was stern and not inclined to " spare the rod," 
and I was hopeless. Then I thought of prayer. 
Father had repeatedly told me that prayer would 
bring the Almighty to our aid, and I had believed im- 
plicitly. I put the broken tine in place so nicely that 
I could not see where it was broken. Holding it there, 
that it might make the least possible trouble for God, 
I knelt down on the grass, and with the fervour of a 
fear-stricken wretch told God that I had been con- 
stantly praying to Him and being good, and now 
wanted His help in mending the broken fork. I had 
not the least doubt that the prayer would be an- 
swered. My dismay may be known when I removed 
my hand and the broken tine fell off ! I never knelt 
in prayer or offered supplication or invocation again. 
The fabric of my faith crumbled into dust. It was 
the first and last time I ever applied for divine aid. 
It was the turning point of a life, when it ceased to 
loe theological and became scientific in its methods 
of thought. 

With my present knowledge, I can recognize at that 
early day the beginning of spirit influence. I often 
felt the exaltation of perception with corresponding 
depression, which I did not then understand, but now 
is clear to me. 

Memory will ever retain the impressions of the first 
time I was conscious that my hand had written with- 
out control or consciousness of my mind. Wholly in- 
explicable, confusing and bewildering, I doubted my 
sanity, and was troubled with fear of the conse- 
quences. I was invited to attend a seance at the home 
of a retired Congregational minister. He had heard 
of the Rochester rappings, and called in a few friends 
to experiment. One bleak and blustering night in 
early March, I walked across the fields two miles or 
more to this seance, impelled by an irresistible im- 
pulse, yet ashamed of my interest in the subject. I 
was then in my sixteenth year. 

At the circle were several acquaintances and some 
strangers, and I was ill at ease. After sitting for per- 
haps an hour I began to feel a calm restfulness, which 
I mistook for sleep, and strove against ; my arm and 
hand began to move unwilled, greatly to my annoy- 
ance, as it attracted attention. A pencil was placed 



12 PREFACE. 

in my hand, and paper on the table. After the awak- 
ening, this disturbance caused, had passed, I fell again 
into the semi-conscious state, and my hand began 
writing illegible scrawls at first, then here and there 
a word was readable, and soon whole sentences. Sev- 
eral names of spirits were written in full, and ques- 
tions, testing identity, were correctly answered. At 
a late hour the seance adjourned, and I returned home 
in a half-conscious state, not sensing the manifesta- 
tions through my hand. 

The next day I realized that I had been in a state 
of which I had hitherto had no experience. A close 
analysis convinced me that I had been at least par- 
tially conscious of what my hand was writing. I was 
fearful that I had deceived, as well as been deceived. 
The members of the circle were convinced that the 
power was beyond myself, while I attempted to ac- 
count for the manifestations by intensification of my 
mind, by which the thoughts of the circle were re- 
flected. I was exceedingly miserable, and said I never 
would place myself again in a position to be imposed 
on, or of imposing on others. 

It could not be spirits, for I did not believe in ex- 
istence after death, yet I thrilled at the thought of 
the possibility of the continuity of life beyond the 
grave. 

That evening, several of those present at the pre- 
ceding seance, and many more who had heard the 
wondrous tale, called to satisfy their curiosity. At 
first I was firm in my decision not to sit again, but 
after long persuasion I yielded, and I may add that 
this yielding to the wishes of those desiring seances 
was a marked peculiarity, which I vainly struggled 
against. However firm my resolve, when strangers 
came and importuned, a higher and stronger influ- 
ence was brought to bear on my will. 

Simultaneously with my development in writing 
came that of rapping and tipping of the table. We 
always sat around a heavy walnut dining table, and 
it gave responses, answered questions, and spelled 
names of departed friends. 

During the physical manifestations I was in semi- 
trance, intensely sensitive and impressible. The least 
word, a jarring question, even when the intention was 



PREFACE. 13 

commendable, grated and rasped. Words convey an 
imperfect idea of this condition. It can only be com- 
pared with that physical state when a nerve is ex- 
posed. 

In illustration, a gentleman called for a sitting, and 
for an hour we sat without the least sign. He then 
removed his hands, and the table tipped, spelling the 
name of his father. At this the gentleman seized the 
side of the table and began to rock it, saying : ' ' See, 
I can move it as well as anyone ! ' ' The implication, 
ordinarily, would have passed with a smile, for I had 
no desire to convince anyone; but in the condition I 
then was, it was like a blow, and I awoke with hot 
words of anger. I was unable to explain to him how 
or why he had offended me, for I did not understand 
myself; and when I recovered my normal state I was 
overwhelmed with shame that I had forgotten myself. 

It was a long time before I recovered my former 
serenity or dared allow myself to fall into the same 
unguarded sensitive condition. As soon as I felt its 
approach I would involuntarily start back. This may 
appear a trifling cause to produce such a result. An 
imperceptible mote in the eye causes unbearable pain ; 
a grain of iron will deflect the magnetic needle. 

In all instances the seances were free; my father 
and mother were strictly conscientious in their relig- 
ious views. They had discarded the orthodox trinity 
for the heterodox unity, and had met the persecution 
of bigotry for the sake of what they regarded as the 
truth. They now received Spiritualism as a higher 
truth, and believed that as it was freely received it 
should be freely given. For years they had opposed 
a paid ministry, citing the disciples as examples. 

In the two years or more, during which rarely an 
evening passed without our rooms being filled with 
anxious seekers, I did not receive a single penny of 
reward. I should have despised myself had I enter- 
tained a thought of degrading the high mission by 
receiving money as reward. 

The same feeling has remained. That truth, in its 
expression of ideas, should be sold, like corn in the 
market, is most repulsive to me. It should be free, and 
he who has a truth, a thought, an idea, which can be 
of value to others, is duty bound to proclaim it. The 



14 PREFACE.. 

experiences of those two years must remain unwrit- 
ten, as I kept no record. 

After I had been for some time under this influence, 
I became dissatisfied with the meager results. I re- 
ceived communications for those who came, and they 
wept for joy at the words from those they had not 
heard from since the long years they had parted from 
them at the bitter grave. When I came out of the 
ecstatic state, the cold, grey world met me, and I was 
in the shadows of the Valley of Despond. At that 
time a light broke through the clouds. My mother, 
to whom this trial was unknown, clairvoyantly saw 
a spirit, who told her of his deep interest in her son, 
and that I must now choose o£ two paths, one leading 
over a level pi ain, thronged with travellers, the other 
over difficult mountain summits, accessible only by se- 
vere labor and self-sacrifice. "If he chooses the last 
I go with him ; if the first, he passes to others, ' ' said 
this spirit. 

When she told me this I recognized its application, 
and so perfectly did it accord with my state of mind 
that I believed that this kind spirit had interested 
himself in my welfare. If this be so, however rugged 
the path, however great the sacrifice I may be called 
to make, I will bear the burden of duty. 

To the public circle I had been compelled to add 
one for myself. I retired to my room and wrote un- 
der the influence of one of those spirits who said they 
were specially near to me. It was a delight to me to 
sit by the hour and write the thoughts which came 
streaming through my mind. I was greatly surprised 
at their newness to me. When I doubted, my hand 
would be seized and write without my knowing a 
word that was written; yet I wrote usually by im- 
pression, and the thoughts which came were a source 
of constant instruction. The writers were my teach- 
ers. It was my only source of knowledge, for I had 
access to few books. I was in a farmhouse remote 
from town, and libraries were not accessible. I had 
attended school eleven months in all, six of which 
were at a district school, and five at a small academy. 

My desire was to become cultured, and not a mere 
instrument in the hands of those who influenced me. 
Then they said to me that my desire indicated wis- 



PREFACE. 15 

dom, and they would be my teachers, and as my part 
I must assist myself. And thus we entered into a 
compact, with promises on both sides, and I can say, 
after the long interval, that I have kept the compact 
to my utmost. They promised hard labor, physical 
and mental, trials, loss of friends, but with this an 
education. My gratitude has constantly increased at 
the renewed instances of their thoughtful care and 
wisdom. 

The first article I ever published was on "Prayer," 
in the Spiritual Telegraph. I was delighted when it 
was accepted, for it was a needed encouragement. 

At that time I often wrote and re-wrote several 
times before the influence would declare the result 
satisfactory. 

I began writing a story founded on spirit-life. It 
was entitled "Scenes in the Spirit World." When it 
was completed there were no apparent means for its 
publication, but its authors said it would be issued in 
due time. Soon after, Datus Kelly, a retired business 
man, who had given his attention to the subject, 
called, and I read portions of the MS. to him. "You 
will publish the book?" he asked. 

"The authors say it will be," I replied, "but I do 
not know how it is possible, for I have neither means 
nor influential friends." 

"I will publish it myself," he replied. 

It was accordingly issued, and had a large sale, and 
has been recently republished in England under the 
title of "Life in Two Spheres." 

Finishing this, I began the "Arcana of Nature." I 
was then entering my eighteenth year. I had, as I 
supposed, completed it, when I received a message to 
destroy the MS., and also everything I had previously 
written, as too imperfect to be of any value. There 
was a surprising bulk, and reluctantly I gathered up 
my treasures and consigned them to the flames. 

Then I began anew the "Arcana." I confess to 
a discouraged feeling when I thought, ' ' Perhaps when 
finished it may not please, and beside, if acceptable, 
how will it be published?" Yet I was impelled, in 
season and out of season, to write, and at length, by 
mental and physical sacrifice, the book was completed. 



16 PREFACE. 

"Is it correct?" I asked anxiously. "It will not be 
re-written, but revised." Then I asked, "When will 
it be published?" "Not until we weed out the im- 
perfections which have come through you. ' ' 

For two years the MS. lay on my table, and nearly 
every day some correction or addition would be made. 
Several timeslAvas on the eve of making arrangements 
for publication, but to my disappointment they would 
fail, and I was almost hopeless. At last the time ar- 
rived, the authors signified their satisfaction, and soon 
after the offer for its publication came. 

Thus it will be seen how the Spirit-intelligences 
controlled events, and from the beginning wrought 
for a well-defined end which, perhaps wisely, was 
from me concealed. 

This book was soon after translated into German. 

I began to feel the assurance of strength. The spir- 
itual side of my double life had gained ascendancy, 
and there was no longer doubt and uncertainty. I 
wrote continually, articles for the spiritual and secu- 
lar press, and, in rapid succession, the second volume 
of the "Arcana," "Philosophy of the Spirit and the 
Spirit World," "Origin and Antiquity of Man," "Ca- 
reer of the God Idea," "Career of the Christ Idea," 
"Career of Religious Ideas," "Ethics of Spiritu- 
alism," "Arcana of Spiritualism," and "Studies 
in the Outlying Fields of Psychic Science," "Me- 
diumship — Its Laws, Cultivation, etc." "The Ca- 
reer of Religious Ideas" and "The Ethics of 
Spiritualism" have been recently republished in one 
volume under the title of "Religion of Man and 
Ethics of Science." In the meantime many tracts and 
stories were written by different spirit-authors. 
Among these may be mentioned "Helloise : Was It Re- 
ligion or Love?" "The People Who Are Damned," 
1 ' The Secrets of the Convent, " " Heresy, " and " What 
Is Spiritualism?" which has sold over fifty thousand 
copies. The contributions to the periodical press far 
exceed in number of pages all these books. 

Mine has been the task of an amanuensis, writing 
that which has been given to me. I claim no honor, 
except honestly and faithfully attempting to perform 
my part of the task. The field of inquiry is as vast 
as space and time, and often there are no words to 



PREFACE. 17 

describe the spiritual realities and relations which 
hitherto have not been unfolded to mortal under- 
standing. 

I have written in hours of pleasure and of pain, 
when life was a joy and when it was a weariness ; but 
I have ever been cheered and sustained by the con- 
sciousness of the presence of the inspiring writers, 
and although apparently alone, have never been com- 
panionless. 



INTRODUCTION. 



What Is Spiritualism? 

There are few who do not desire to believe and to 
know, that there is an existence beyond the grave, 
where the broken strands of this earthly life are 
united, and "the loved ones gone before" await our 
home-coming. Under the teaching of a remorseless 
materialistic science, reacting against the supersti- 
tious inculcations of the past, life after the death of 
the physical body has come to be regarded as "an 
iridescent dream;" yet there still remains in the 
hearts of mankind a hope, a desire for immortality, 
which is the voice of the Spirit, conscious of its high 
and eternal destiny. 

Theological dogmatism, with its questionable meth- 
ods, has disgusted those whose minds have been en- 
lightened and broadened by scientific studies, and 
they demand evidence. To such, Spiritualism offers 
satisfactory demonstration, in place of the belief or 
faith which the creeds insist upon. Spiritualism 
comes to the scientist with a new science, while to the 
broken-hearted, mourning over the loss of loved ones, 
it comes with the blest assurance that beyond the 
grave is the grand reality of which this earthly life is 
but the shadow. 

Spiritualism has no creed, for it cannot formu- 
late a dogmatic system. It is the Science of Life, 
here and hereafter, and is founded on facts. It re- 
gards belief without evidence as valueless, and hence 
can fraternize with no church, sect, or clique, nor en- 
gage in proselytizing; and knowing that conviction 
can come only by demonstration, it furnishes the evi- 
dences and calmly awaits the result. It may harmon- 
ize with this or that church in some particulars ; find 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

support in the sacred books of all ages and nations, 
yet it stands independent, receiving no authority from 
such incidental supports. 

It is a distinct system, has its own methods of re- 
. search, and is not obliged to harmonize its views with 
conclusions drawn from other sources. 

As a science, Spiritualism is the knowledge of the 
psychical, or spiritual, nature of man; and as Spirit 
is the moving force of the universe, its study is that of 
Creation, and is not complete until the unknown be- 
comes known. In a narrower sense, as applied to the 
communion between Spiritual beings and Man, it em- 
braces the facts, laws and conditions of such inter- 
course. It unitizes the psychical phenomena of all 
ages and races of mankind, by proving that they are 
governed by the same underlying laws. 

Modern Spiritualism is distinguished from that of 
the past by its acceptance of the doctrine of law: 
That the spiritual realm is governed by laws as fixed 
and determinable as those which rule physical matter. 
The spiritual manifestations of the past were regard- 
ed as fortuitous, or dependent on the wishes of irre- 
sponsible agents, and varied in degree of presentation 
from the inspiration of the Universal Divine Spirit 
(or God) to the lowest forms of witchcraft, divination 
and voodoism. Modern Spiritualism unitizes all these 
varied and often conflicting manifestations by refer- 
ence to common and fundamental principles and laws, 
thereby eliminating miracle, and furnishing data by 
which right judgment may be formed. From a vast 
number of observations made by competent and im- 
partial investigators, which may be verified, it ac- 
cepts the statement as fully demonstrated that the 
intelligences who control mediums are departed 
friends, as they claim ; spirits who once lived on earth, 
and who return because held by the strength of their 
love or desires. 

The Methods of Communication vary, the physical 
manifestations being quite distinct from the psy- 
chical. In order to have such manifestations, a me- 
dium, or sensitive, has always been held necessary. 
Ill preceding ages the seer, priest, prophet, and magi 
stood between the spirit-world and man, and religious 
systems were based upon their utterances, or thereby 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

supported. There is no evidence that the greatest of 
these surpassed the modern medium, but there is abun- 
dance to prove that the present phase, by its clear and 
comprehensive grasp of the whole, exceeds the past 
as much as Chemistry does Alchemy, or Astronomy, 
Astrology. A better understanding of these laws and 
conditions has yielded and will continue to yield a 
higher, better, and more trustworthy order of sensi- 
tives. 

Mediumship is capable of culture along known 
lines ; is not a gift from a foreign source, but a faculty 
common to all ; varying in degree and methods of ex- 
pression with each individual. 

Spirit Communication.— If death makes no change 
except of condition, the individuality being perfectly 
preserved, communications must be like their source, 
and the psychological influence exerted upon me- 
diums be good or bad according to the moral and in- 
tellectual status of the controlling spirit. But the 
law of affinity strictly holds, and a bad spirit can no 
more force a sensitive into wrong-doing than can a 
human companion. On the other hand, good spirits 
possess the talismanic qualities, charity, pity, love, 
which enable them to enter the sphere of the lowest 
and aid them to rise to higher conditions. 

During the comparatively brief period that system- 
atic communication with the spirit-world has been 
made possible, millions of people have been convinced 
that they have received messages from their departed 
friends, and although no creedal expression has ever 
been generally promulgated, the "consensus of the 
competent" has formulated a belief held in common, 
based on and demonstrated by the facts observed, and 
the communications received from spirits. The fol- 
lowing statement of principles may be said to be en- 
dorsed by a majority so large among advanced Spir- 
itualists, as to be practically unanimous. 

Origin of Spiritual Beings.— Accepting the doctrine 
of evolution, the long line of advancement from the 
lowest and earliest form of living beings, to Man, has 
a purpose and a meaning, which is, through him to 
evolve a spiritual being, capable of retaining indi- 
viduality after the death of the physical body. The 
origin and development of the spiritual body is cor- 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

related and contemporary with that of the t>hysical 
body. 

Death is the separation of the spirit — the ego and 
its spiritual form — from the physical body, and does 
not in the least affect the attainments, feelings, emo- 
tions, or faculties. The next life is a continuation of 
this, death making no more change in the individual 
than does walking from one room to another or cast- 
ing off a worn garment. 

The Spirit holds the same relations to the Spirit- 
world that Man does to the Material. It has a body 
formed of ethereal substance, and a mind identical 
with that which it possessed on earth, except as 
changed by the process of mental growth. 

There is no arbitrary decree, final judgment day, 
or atonement for wrong, or forgiveness, except 
through the reformation of the wrong-doer, by suffer- 
ing and spiritual culture ; a growth, not a transforma- 
tion. 

Man is a spirit, flesh-clad, and as such walks the 
courts of Heaven, and stands in the presence of the 
Universal Spirit, in earth life, as much as he will after 
death. Hence the knowledge, attainments, and ex- 
perience of that earth-life form his character for the 
future existence. As a spirit, the powers of spirit 
are his, incipient, but when he acquires the knowl- 
edge, capable of wonderful achievements. 

A Future State of Award.— The spirit, in the phys- 
ical body, or freed therefrom, must achieve its own 
salvation. 

The doctrine of spirit evolution carries with it the 
following destructive and constructive propositions: 
(1) Man has not fallen from a state of perfection; has 
not been, and cannot be, ''lost from God." (2) The 
mediators between God and man are those mortal 
spirits or angels who bring knowlege. They are 
saviors one and all, equally essential in his reception 
of truth, and aspiration for the highest ideal excel- 
lence. (3) Evil is the imperfection of a lower state 
or condition conflicting with a higher, and as such will 
be outgrown. (4) Mortal life is not probationary, 
immortality is not bestowed on account of belief but 
is the natural heritage of humanity. 

Brotherhood and Divinity of Man. —The individual- 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

ized spirit is the reality and highest type of creative 
energy. It is divine, is endowed with infinite capabili- 
ties, and thereby all mankind are united in brother- 
hood with a common destiny. 

The Object of Spiritualism.— The complete cultiva- 
tion and development of man, physically, intellectual- 
ly, morally, spiritually. The birthright of every hu- 
man being is happiness, which will be gained by a per- 
fect comprehension of the laws and conditions of 
physical and spiritual existence. 

The Incentives of Spiritualism.— By presenting the 
most exalted motives it encourages the loftiest aspira- 
tions, prompts to highest endeavor, and inculcates 
se J f -reliance. It frees man from the bondage of au- 
thority of book or creed. Its only authority is Truth ; 
its interpreter Reason. 

Results of an Intelligent Acceptance of Spiritual- 
ism.— Nobility, purity, and magnanimity of life; all- 
embracing charity and philanthropy ; constant and 
earnest endeavor to actualize an ideal perfect life in 
this world as the best preparation for the next; living 
to live, not living to die ; and for the Religion of Pain, 
which has held mankind in thrall, the substitution of 
the Religion of Joy. 

THE BALM IN GILEAD. 

We all come at last to the shore of the sea of death, 
brooded over by darkness, without a star in the sky, 
or a beacon gleaming through the fog thickly settling 
down on the black waves. We have bowed with agon- 
izedheartswhen they whom we loved best have passed 
into the cloud-shadows. We have watched by their 
couch of pain during the terrible struggle, and with 
trembling hand wiped away the dew of mortal agony. 
We have watched the coming change, the pallor, the 
fleeting breath, and vainly sought to catch a whisper 
from lips of clay. Then all the world grew dark, and 
it seemed a sin for the sun to shine in the heavens, for 
the birds to sing, or anyone to have joy in his heart. 

Suffering heart by this dreary sea, is there no hope? 
Is there no light beyond the shadows? When night 
gathers on this life, will not the sun rise on the mor- 
row? Cannot science, philosophy, or religion solve 
this question and remove all doubt ? Is there no balm 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

in Gilead?— no staff, strong and true, on which to 
lean I 

Invoke Philosophy, with her robes of snow, pretend- 
ing to a knowledge of the world and infinite destiny. 
She will tell yon of the cycle of being, the snccession 
of generations, that life and death complement each 
other, and that all we can hope for is unceasing 
change as the abiding law, and he who grasps to hold 
will find but shadows in his hands. 

"I speculate," says Philosophy, "and others may 
speculate. There have been speculations for these 
many thousand years, and this is the conclusion 
reached : 'Nothing is known except that nothing can 
; .be known. If the sea before you is darkness, why 
complain. Is not the past equally dark? Of the pres- 
ent, even, what does anyone know?' " 

Ask Natural Science, claiming to resolve the earth 
into its elements, weigh the stars of heaven, and cal- 
culate the pulsations of thought in the living brain. 
It replies with a sneer: "What is there beyond? 
Transformation, nothing more. What do you expect? 
Continued existence? Know, then, these clouds rest 
over oblivion — utter negation of being. Intelligence 
is of the body, and with it perishes. Life arises from 
co-ordination of conditions, and when they cease it no 
longer exists. Do you hear the music of the instru- 
ment after it has been reduced to ashes? No more 
should you expect intelligence after the brain which 
produces it is dead." 

Ask Religion to Give Her Consolation.— If so, why 
do those most faithful, most zealous, mourn beside the 
grave uncomf orted ? They may bow beneath the rod 
of affliction and believe their loss is for the best, for 
some secret purpose of divine providence, but do they 
see more clearly through their blinding tears? Is 
there one, however filled with religious fervor, who 
would not gladly welcome assurance of the future life 
by the coming of an angel from the glory of heaven ? 
Religion has not staid the tide of doubt and her rec- 
ommendation of faith is received by science with a 
sneer. 

Most terrible if this be true ! If hearts are strung 
to the tenderest touch of feeling, and respond to the 
gentle influence of love, only to feel the rude and 



24 INTRODUCTION 

withering' hand of pain, what a mockery is life ; what 
a sham this fair and beautiful earth ! 

Is this all ? Is there no hope ? Must the aspiring 
spirit go down with the beast of the field into silent 
dust ? Between the human mind with infinite aspira- 
tions and the instinct of the brute, is there no distinc- 
tion? Does the same fate await man and the worm 
beneath his feet? 

Suffering soul, there is hope. There is a guide out 
of the wilderness of doubt into the clear sunshine of 
immortal light. It leads to the highlands overlook- 
ing the murky fogs, and we can see far out into the 
infinite beyond. That guide is Spiritualism. By this 
name is meant vastly more than the phenomena which 
result from spirit action. Spiritualism is a system of 
thought which goes down to the foundation of crea- 
tion, and ascends to the sphere of highest intelligence. 
It is a system commensurate with the universe, from 
the attraction of atoms to the formation of thought ; 
from the birth of worlds to the ascension of an angel. 
This Spiritualism is the foundation of all religious 
systems. It runs through all as a golden thread, 
woven into diverse patterns, always bright, beautiful, 
indestructible, however dark the background against 
which it is revealed. It forms the essence of all 
poetry, and supplies the pivotal facts of history. It is 
the essential doctrine of all sacred books, without 
which they have no significance. The various Chris- 
tion churches repose on the demonstration, through 
Jesus, of immortality, and the Bible, from Genesis to 
Revelation, records the communion of spirits with 
mankind. 

WHAT IS THE SPIRITUAL THEORY? 

That beneath all the fleeting phenomena of the 
world is. the realm of pure spiritual energy, out of 
which ail existence flows. If the body of man may 
be likened to a fragment broken from the world of 
matter, so his spirit is a fragment broken from the 
realm of spiritual force, and enabled to sustain its in- 
dividual identity. It is not from " matter and its 
attributes," but from this infinite spiritual energy, 
that creation flows as an outward expression of in- 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

ward conception. In support of this doctrine, the 
writer known as St. Paul said : ' ' There are also celes- 
tial bodies and bodies terrestial. * * * It is sown 
a natural body, and is raised a spiritual body. * * * 
Now this I say, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit 
the Kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit 
incorruption. For this corruption must put on in- 
corruption, and this mortal immortality ! ' ' When this 
is done, he says there ''Will be brought to pass the 
saying which is written, Death is swallowed up in vic- 
tory. ' ' In these undying phrases Paul enunciated the 
spiritual philosophy, and thereby unlocked the secrets 
of the grave. 

The terrestrial body cannot inherit eternal life, 
which is the inheritance of the celestial. Death is the 
severance of the cord which unites the spiritual and 
physical. The physical returns to mother earth, the 
celestial passes to a higher life, a continuance of this. 
Hence death works no change, except in condition. 
The individual is no more affected than by a night's 
sleep, from which he awakens refreshed and invigor- 
ated for the new day's experiences. Immortality is 
our birthright. 

A materialist said: "We are travelling between 
two bleak and barren promontories, the Past and the 
unknown Future." In the new light the highlands of 
the Past are crowned with blessed memories, and the 
Future, instead of a bleak and barren headland, to- 
wards which we drift in tears, rises above the shadows 
of this life, and on its purple slopes we behold our 
fathers, our mothers, wives, husbands, children, 
friends, who left us in the night of years, all there 
with garments of light, extending their arms to wel- 
come us ! 

Spiritualism presses to the quivering lips of grief 
this cup of precious nectar, distilled by the angels in 
heaven. 

The great and ever-enduring lesson taught by this 
view of life, here and hereafter, is that the present is 
the shadow of future realities. We are spirits to-day 
and shall be the same to-morrow, after this body has 
fallen from us. We have already begun the infinite 
journey, and are not to await the coming of death be- 
fore we Qan start. When that change comes, the dross 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

of this life falls from us ; its vain ambitions, puerile 
objects, estates, bonds, and title deeds fall to ashes. 
The spirit will then stand alone, holding fast only to 
those actions which had relation to its immortal life. 
Never was wiser command given than to "Lay up 
your treasures above. ' ' 

Although Philosophy, Science, and Religion have 
failed to give us adequate response, here we find satis- 
faction. The dead speak, and assure us of their ident- 
ity; that they live beyond the thin veil which con- 
ceals them from mortal eyes, and love us yet. Life 
has no joy like this ! Its pains and burdens are light 
now that we know that they bear us to the goal, where 
face to face, we shall meet our beloved in the land 
where partings are unknown. ' ' Over-estimate ! ' ' Can 
he who wanders in a darksome cave over-estimate the 
sunshine which bathes the world with glory ? Surely 
we fail to appreciate the length and breadth and 
height of this great Cause, which, like the fabled ash, 
penetrating through the physical world, strikes its 
roots into the nether realm, and lifts its branches 
above into the heavens ! 

Is it a religion ? 

If religion be devotion to the true and right, for 
love of the true and right alone, regardless of conse- 
quences, the fear of doing wrong, and not fear of God 
— then it is a religion. 

It is a religion, a philosophy, a science blended, 
forming a system vital with growth and commensurate 
with the needs of humanity. How broad this field! 
How expansive to all that is noble and divine ! Above 
the jangling war of beliefs, of dogmas, of narrow and 
one-sided views of man and God, the true Spiritualist 
stands overlooking the wide-spreading sea, with hori- 
zon lifting to reveal new glories of remote and unex- 
plored continents. No one who has gained these 
hieghts ever receded or sighed for the old-time bond- 
age. 

We are immortal spirits now. We are walking the 
corridors of heaven, fashioning the character of our 
spirits. Whatever we do that has an eternal relation, 
is a treasure laid up above ; all else is fleeting shadow, 
passing with the day. 

They who thought the evidence of conscious exist- 



INTR0DUC1I0N. 27 

ence beyond the grave all that their hearts most 
craved, find that they have entered a sphere of new 
and ever-extending activities. Thus, Spiritualism is 
the religion of life, and deals directly with the cares 
and responsibilities of mankind. 

Nor by supinely waiting will the full benefits of 
Spiritualism be realized. Be active is the command. 
The world is on]y redeemed by sacrifice and travail. 
The past has dreamed of a future Eden. We are 
rapidly nearing the Fortunate Isle beyond the waves 
of the Western Ocean seen by our ancestors. Oblivion 
will devour the dross and leave the shining truth. 
Creeds, dogmas, superstitions, shall pass with their 
day, and the mockery of legislation which attempts to 
force men to be moral. Eden, the age of thought, of 
perfect manhood, is coming. The angels proclaim it. 
Again they breathe "Peace on earth, good- will to 
men." Their voices have vibrated in the hearts of 
the true all these centuries, to break forth in the full 
glory of the glad anthem which shall usher in the day 
of man's emancipation from slavery to the errors of 
the past. 

THE NAME. 

It has been reserved for the present time to show 
the absurdity of the poet's saying, that a rose by an- 
other name would smell as sweet, and maintain that 
its fragrance would be enhanced by a newly-coined 
name. Spiritualism has won its way to the hearts of 
millions. It presents in the most beautiful form the 
philosophy and science of life, and a religion deep as 
the foundation of things, and as lofty as the reach of 
Infinite Intelligence. It stands as the antagonist of 
Materialism, presenting the only consistent explana- 
tion of the phantasmagoria of Creation ; for there can 
only be two methods of solving the world problems, 
the Spiritual and Material. The first regards phe- 
nomena as the expression to the senses of spiritual 
forces which permeate and underlie the physical 
world. These forces, in their expression, manifest 
apparent intelligence, and pursue fixed channels, 
known as laws, to certain results. There is a plan, an 
aim, and purpose, which find response in our own in- 
telligence, as an infinite expression of our limited fac- 



28 INTRODUCTION. 

ulties. This is a fundamental idea of the Spiritual 
Philosophy. Man, as the perfect fruitage of the tree 
of life, epitomises in his spirit the forces of Nature. 
His spiritual existence begins at birth, for mortal life 
is its first state, and continues on into the aeons of 
Eternity. The Science of Spiritualism is the knowl- 
edge of spiritual laws and forces, in their grandest 
generalizations, as special forms, as limited by indi- 
vidualization in man. It comprises all the relation- 
ships individuals sustain in mortal life, and the 
broader intercourse of the immortal spheres. 

But Spiritualism has not always been presented to 
the world in this glorious form. It has been made 
synonymous with ignorance or designing folly, with 
the frauds of mountebanks and jugglers. This great 
Cause has flowed on like a mighty river at time of 
flood, broad and profoundly deep, with current ocean- 
ward, irresistible, but unperceived by those on shore, 
because its surface has been covered with driftwood, 
wreckage, the froth and spume of agitation. They 
who have stood by and fathomed the uprising of the 
waters have been possessed by abiding faith that 
when the drift of decayed trunks and broken branches 
and the wash and garbage of the shores should be 
carried away, the stream would flow strong and clear 
as truth itself. 

Now that the cause has become strong, the attempt 
is made to seize it with rapacious hands by many 
cliques, and label it by various names to suit their 
fancies. In each and every instance, instead of the 
broad field covered by the term Spiritualism, titles are 
proposed covering only narrow portions, fragments 
broken off and exploited as the whole. 

Theosophy, Occultism, Christian Science, Faith 
Cure and Metaphysics are some of the terms present- 
ed. The first has allied itself with Indian jugglery, 
and is too utterly profound for comprehension. It 
differs from Spiritualism in the essential feature, that 
while the latter places no limitation to spirits, the 
former professes to teach its votaries how they may 
control spirits and compel them to perform tasks as 
messengers, thus introducing the wild dreams of the 
Arabian Nights as realities of science. Yet it may 
be observed that every instance wherein "element 



INTRODUCTION. 29 

taries" have been introduced, deception has been 
proven. Spirit intelligences may be influenced by their 
mortal friends, and assist, through the motives of love 
and affection as they would do were they yet in 
earthly life, but they are not bond-slaves to incanta- 
tion and burning incense, or the lingo of self-appoint- 
ed priests. 

Occultism, has unfortunately, become a favorite 
word to characterize the phenomena of Spiritualism. 
"Occult" means secret, unknown, hidden from the 
eye of the understanding, but its popular significance 
is derived from its use in connection with necromancy 
and alchemy, which flourished in the ignorance of the 
past, and were known as the ■ ' occult sciences. ' ' When 
employed as equivalent to Spiritualism, bearing the 
taint of its past meaning, it degrades and libels the 
cause. 

Christian science has made for itself a wide hear- 
ing. The effeminates, whose ailment is want of will, 
are benefited by being impressed that disease is a de- 
lusion, and that they are well and strong if they only 
think themselves so ; yet it must not be forgotten that 
this is the teaching of Spiritualism, only carried to 
unwarrantable length. While in the mortal body the 
spirit is under physical limitations, and although dom- 
inant, and the will often superior, yet as long as the 
two are connected, the conditions of the physical 
world must act on the spirit. Thus, while "faith 
cure,'"' "Christian science," mental science," etc., are 
valuable in reinforcing the will, and helpful in nerv- 
ous ills, they are of little value in diseases resulting 
from organic changes, as poisoning and bacteria. 
"Christian science" essays a wider field than healing 
disease, but it may be said of it that as far as it is 
true it follows Spiritualism, and when it departs from 
the teachings of the latter it becomes vague, visionary 
and unsupported. 

Of "metaphysics," in the new and unwarrantable 
meaning given to that term, all that is of value is 
taken from Spiritualism, and that which it has added 
is not true. 

We sailed out of port on the grandest ship that ever 
floated on the ocean of time. None had finer lines, or 



30 INTRODUCTION. 

were stauncher against adverse winds or tides. Her 
keel was laid by the hands of angels, and every plank 
riveted nnder their guidance. She was manned by 
self-sacrificing bravery and the most noble thinkers 
of the world. As we sailed, we saw from her decks 
many false lights flaming on headlands to the right 
and left, and heard the breakers on many an unseen 
reef of the uncharted seas. The mighty prow was 
turned to the infinite expanse, the eternity of eterni- 
ties, and the waves laughed as they clapped their 
hands gleefully around or languished in the long-ex- 
tending path swift left behind. 

Now we meet other ships, slow sailing, or derelicts, 
abandoned by their crews to decay on the waves. 
There are the huge, weather-stained hulks of dogmas, 
water-logged and ready to disappear in the bottom 
of the sea ; and around us sport monstrous shapes of 
creeds and cruel beliefs, which once sent the blood 
from the blanched face of bravery ; made the hero a 
craven, crowned the idiot a saint, and apotheosised 
the demented enthusiast. 

Grandly we are sailing, the canvas swelling to the 
gales of truth, spiritual intelligences at the wheel, and 
headed straight out into the mists of the horizon 
which extends between two worlds. We have gath- 
ered in, from sinking crafts and mouldering hulls, 
many a perishing soul, and the decks are crowded by 
a motley crew. We meet with lofty ships, battered 
and gnawed by the waves of the centuries they have 
sailed. Their tattered ensigns bear the names of 
churches. There is the double-deck frigate of the Cath- 
olics, the gaily-trimmed wherry of the Episcopalians ; 
the well-armed brig of the Presbyterians; the dark- 
sided, lumbering schooner of the Baptists ; the broad- 
decked lighter of the Methodists; the trim clipper of 
the Unitarians ; and steam yacht of the Agnostics. 

' ' Ship ahoy ! ' ' comes over the waters from a score 
of decks. ' ' What flag do you float ? ' ' 

Then we look aloft and see the tall mast without an 
ensign ! 

"What flag shall we unfurl?" is the eager cry. 

"What flag?" 

Then out of the steerage and hold swarm Occultists, 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

Christian Scientists, Psychists, and Theosophists, who 
have taken passage as stowaways. 

"Run up a banner with Christian Science written 
thereon,'' cries one. 

"No, with Occultism!" cries another, and the Theo- 
sophist wants "Theosophy " on a streamer reaching to 
infinitude. "I beseech you, do not disgrace us, but 
blazon 'Psychic Science' on the flag," cries another. 

Then we reply: "You do not sail this ship. Our 
officers did not know you were on board. You smug- 
gled yourselves in, and have been brought thus far 
without giving us the shadow of assistance. If we 
were to display all your devices they would not sig- 
nify our aim and purpose. Our ship is sailing for the 
metropolis of the future world, and will not cast 
anchor or furl its sails until that haven is reached." 
We run to the topmost peak a snowy flag, whereon is 
emblazoned "Spiritualism." 

Spiritualism, the philosophy and science of life, 
here and hereafter ; the sum of all truth and incentive 
to righteousness. We will nail it there, that no hand 
desecrate it. There it will remain when all the fads 
and ologies have passed and been forgotten. They 
are for time, but Spiritualism is without limit of dura- 
tion. 



HER GRAVE. 

Oh, I can bear to think of it when summer's warmth is 
glowing 
In melting clouds, and shining dews, and tender floods of 
grief; 
When the violets are living, and the fragrant clover blowing, 
And not a tree is there alive but is in perfect leaf. 

I know that, though I sit and weep as mournful as a shadow, 
The hand of Grief upon my heart, her anguish in my eye, 

The robins are rejoicing and the larks sing in the meadow, 
And the air is full of music in the churchyard where you 
lie. 

I half forget that you are dead, our pretty, blue-eyed darling, 

With an oleander blossom resting on each rounded cheek; 

And your red mouth sweet and mobile, and your voice a 

singing starling, 

And your soul a very angel, looking through your eyes so 

meek. 

I can think of it in summer, but this winter night 'tis snow- 
ing, 
And all the life of nature like your young blood is con- 
gealed; 
How wearily, how drearily the moaning winds are blowing! 
Your grave is just a snowdrift heaped upon a barren field. 

EMMA ROOD TUTTLB. 



DELUSION: WHO SHALL DECLARE IT? 



Well, maybe it is delusion 

That the soul lives after death ; 
But, if so, it is far the dearest 

Which the tongue of mortal saith. 
And, since so much of life's pleasure 

Is wrought of unreal things, 
I shall always hold to the riches 

Which the "dear delusion" brings. 

Delusions of earth are mocking 

Wherever we mortals go, 
And finding so much unreal 

Has cost me a deal of woe. 
But the dream of life immortal 

Will never bring me pain; 
For, when it is proven error, 

I shall count not loss nor gain. 

I shall never live to know it, 

If my darlings are only dust; 
And all which the weakest and wisest 

Can do is to hope and trust. 
I may reason and doubt, but ever 

They may seem to speak from the sky; 
Then it seems but a cold delusion 

To dream that a soul can die? 

You may show me the dust and ashes, 

You may give me a wreath of rue, 
You may dream you have truth and wisdom, 

And I am less brave than you; 
But still I shall never yield it 

For a thing you say or do; 
You cannot make it an error, 

And I cannot make it true. 

We all must wait and wonder 

What the change of death will bring; 
Your sketches are skulls and cross-bones, 

Which I to the winds would fling, 
And picture immortal faces 

Brow-girt with asphodels, 
And hands which are reaching earthward 

Bunches of immortelles. 

But neither your wise conclusions, 

Nor mine with their rainbow wings, 
Can alter one jot or tittle 

The eternal law of things! 
Yet, ah! in the world that this is 

It were all too sad to stay, 
If we could not have our fancies 

Of "The Ever-so-far-away." 

— Emma Rood Tuttle. 



INDEX TO CHAPTERS. 



PAGE. 

CHAPTER I. 
Evidences of Spiritualism 35 

CHAPTER II. 
Evidences of Spiritualism 51 

CHAPTER III. 
Matter and Force: Their Relation to Spirit 73 

CHAPTER IV. 
Spiritual Atmosphere of the Universe 93 

CHAPTER V. 
Animal Magnetism, Hypnotism, Mesmerism 107 

CHAPTER VI. 
Spirit — Its Phenomena and Laws 130 

CHAPTER VII. 
Spirit — Its Phenomena and Laws 145 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Philosophy of Death 193 

CHAPTER IX. 
Mediumship — Its Phenomena, Laws and Cultivation 210 

CHAPTER X. 
Mediumship During Sleep 236 

CHAPTER XI. 
Heaven and Hell, the Supposed Abodes of the Departed . . 267 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Spirit's Home 285 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Resume — A General Survey of Spiritualism 298 

CHAPTER XIV. 
-The Old Religion of Pain. Spiritualism the Religion of 

Joy .....328 

A Glossary of Terms 345 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 



CHAPTER I. 
EVIDENCES OF SPIRITUALISM. 

A Discussion of the Various Theories Advanced for 

Its Exposition. 

If a Man Die Shall He Live Again? — Investigation of Spir- 
itual Phenomena — Immortality and Science — Conditions of 
Immortality — Impossible with Physical Elements — Does 
the Mind Perish? — If Man Is Not Immortal, How can He 
Understand Immortality? — Opposition of Science — Is It 
Legerdemain? — Are the Senses Reliable? — Hallucination? 
— Evil Spirits or the Devil? — Magnetism, Electricity, Od 
Force — Mental Phenomena — The Position Taken by Scien- 
tific Men — The Intelligence Manifested Is Human, yet Not 
Derived from the Medium or Circle — Only One Recourse. 

IF A MAN DIE SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN? 

Confucius says : "How vast is the power of spirit ! 
An ocean of invisible intelligences surrounds us every- 
where. If you look for them you cannot see them. If 
you listen you cannot hear them. Identified with the 
substance of all things, they cannot be separated from 
it. They are everywhere, above us, on our right, and 
on our left. Their coming cannot be calculated. How 
important we do not neglect them." 

In the investigation of this mysterious subject it is 
essential, as in all other investigations after truth, 
that the vision be directed through a clear glass, and 
that the conclusion reached be accepted without 
prejudice. 



36 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

No question appeals more strongly to human con- 
sciousness than that which has been asked since love 
first felt the chilling shadow of the grave: "If a man 
die shall he live again?" On its affirmation depend 
our hopes and aspirations : its negation makes of crea- 
tion a sham, into which man is thrust for no purpose, 
except to pass his brief hour of existence, fraught 
with pain and disappointment, to be blotted out at 
life's swift closing evening by eternal night. This 
negation, with the logic of science as at present un- 
derstood, leads to Atheism. This has been foreseen 
by theologians who have sought to arrest its progress, 
but the shafts they have aimed at scepticism have re- 
bounded against themselves. 

The responsibility rests on every new truth to vin- 
dicate itself by positive evidence, and show the errors 
of the beliefs it supplants. Cicero gave more atten- 
tion to the arguments brought against him than to 
those he presented in favor, and it is essential to show 
the old false before establishing the new. 

INVESTIGATION OF SPIRITUAL PHENOMENA. 

In no department of research does the investigator 
meet with greater difficulties than in that of psychic 
manifestations. The field is almost unknown, with 
scarcely a trail to guide the explorer ; and the essen- 
tial conditions on "which success depends cannot be 
predicated with certainty. It has been approached 
by two classes, actuated by opposite motives — one 
prejudiced against everything claiming spirituality, 
with the case prejudged, and arrogantly blind to the 
facts that appear ; the other too easily satisfied, with 
the partiality of credulity for the bizarre and incom- 
prehensible. Then there is a middle class of students 
who discriminate, rejecting the false and accepting 
the true, and by so doing are distrusted by both ex- 
tremes; the first regarding them as untrustworthy; 
the latter as suspicious allies, liable to desert the cause 
at any moment. As Confucius taught, the truth re- 
sides in the "golden mean," calm judgment and im- 
partial reason having eliminated the conflicting 
sources of error. The insatiate demand for objective 
manifestations has had a disastrous influence. It has 
gone on increasing its requirements until the most 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 37 

remarkable, if not impossible, have been called for, 
and the demand has been answered; for never was 
credulity so great but fraud could minister to its 
wants. Those who disclaimed Materialism as gross 
and unworthy, reduced Spiritualism itself to the 
crudest Materialism, and were satisfied with nothing 
short of weighing their so-called spirit friends on 
platform scales, and receiving yards of lace, which is 
of earthly looms, though believed to be from the deft 
fingers of spirits. 

Spirit phenomena must be essentially spiritual, and 
only slightly touch the physical horizon. It was a 
blunder, fraught with disaster to the Cause, when the 
purely spiritual phases were set aside for grosser 
forms of manifestation ; the end reached being invari- 
ably the same. 

The sensitive, or medium, commenees with an hon- 
est purpose. The manifestations are slight, occur at 
irregular times, and when least called for. If con- 
tent to cultivate this sensitiveness, and receive 
what is given, all is well. It may grow more 
and more, and have seasons of wonderful activ- 
ity; but the possessor usually becomes a pub- 
lic vendor of his or her gift. The eager public 
call at certain hours, and pay a fixed price. Every in- 
ducement is made to increase the manifestations, and 
render them, more remarkable. These cannot be pre- 
dicated, and the chances are always against their re- 
currence. The gift of sensitiveness does not answer 
the demand; but in another direction it becomes a pit 
into which its possessor falls. The intense desire of 
those awaiting response acts hypnotically on the me- 
dium. If he is sensitive to the thoughts of spirits, he 
is equally so to the thoughts and wishes of mortals. 
Impelled by the latter influence and the selfish desire 
to win money, the manifestations are simulated, and 
this with more and more daring until at last the de- 
ception is too transparent to deceive the most credu- 
lous, and has wrought its own cure. 

Immortality and Science.— Science is an interpreter 
of the senses. The phenomena attending the death of 
man and of animals are apparently the same. The 
processes of decay destroy their bodies, resolving' 
them into identical elements. In vain is appeal made 



38 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

to the senses for knowledge of existence beyond the 
grave. Their voice is ' ' Dust to dust ; " a resurrection 
of new organic life out of the dead atoms. Man's 
physical body is composed of perishable compounds, 
and, of necessity, must perish. Dissolution is the ter- 
rible, but unavoidable, end of living beings. Com- 
posed as they are of elements antagonistic, gross, and 
conflicting, the result of their reaction, called life, 
cannot be preserved. A living being represents "a, 
balance of the forces of decay and renovation. In the 
maturing organism, the latter predominate; in age, 
the former constantly increase in power until they 
gain the victory in death Such is the history of ail 
organic forms. Out of the imperfect material afford- 
ed by the physical world, immortal beings cannot be 
produced. 

Conditions of Immortality,— An immortal being 
presupposes the perfect harmony of its constituent 
elements c The forces of decay and renovation must 
not only balance, they must so remain forever. Im- 
mortality is this harmony eternally preserved ; and, if 
attainable with plrysical elements, an immortal lion or 
panther^ oak or pine, would be as possible as an im- 
mortal man. 

Impossible with Physical Elements,— But such con- 
ditions cannot obtain. Organic forms revolve in des- 
ignated orbits, fulfil appointed missions, and pass 
back to elementary atoms. The grass and herbs of 
the fields; the trees of centuries' growth; the deer 
browsing the branches; the lion devouring the deer; 
all the multitudinous forms of animated nature, with 
man boasting of his superiority, grow old, and die. 
Identically do they all decay. Their dissolving ele- 
ments are absorbed by the earth, washed by the rains, 
wafted away by the winds. All are resolved, and 
mingle. The farthest oasis in the desert is refreshed 
by the gifts brought by the winds and rain ; the palm 
is taller, the grass greener. Life rejoices in the har- 
vest of the old. So is it always ; life preys on death ; 
and in a perpetual cycle of change from death to life, 
the world is filled with beings, and a fleeting happi- 
ness secured to each. 

Does the Mind Perish? — Physically man is an ani- 
mal; mentally— "Ah! What?" asks the sceptic. 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 39 

"What is memory but an interrupted succession of 
automatic actions? And God-like reason regarded as 
placing an impassable barrier between man and ani- 
mals — what is it but the comparison of perceptions? 
What is mind, as a whole, but the result of chemical 
changes in the nerve centers as heat is in the grate, 
or electricity in the battery? "Does not the brain 
secrete thought as the liver secretes bile ? ' ' 

Man has the wants of the animal ; and after these 
are supplied he feels the breath of new and vastly 
higher faculties, dimly recognizable by his aspira- 
tions. Indefinable, inexpressible desires and longings 
seize him. He feels that he is akin to that which is 
supreme. He thinks blindly that this afflatus is the 
breath of Deity, and, shadowing his ideal, he personi- 
fies it as God, and endows it with infinite attributes. 
What is this shadow which man, the animal, worships 
as God? Is it not his own immortal being? As in a 
mirror he sees his own divine qualities reflected, and 
thus it is not true that men assimilate to their Gods ; 
rather their gods are personified representatives of 
themselves. 

If Man Is Not Immortal, How Can He Understand 
Immortality? — An ox can no more understand mathe- 
matics than immortality, because he has not the ele- 
ments of either in his organization. He does not count 
the blades of grass on which he feeds, nor estimate 
their form or size. He appreciates them only as far 
as they appease his hunger. In man, size, form, num- 
ber are suggested, because he has the mathematical 
faculties. If he were mortal, it would be as impossi- 
ble for him to comprehend immortality as for the ox 
to understand mathematics. 

Opposition of Science,— Material Science, as under- 
stood, is opposed to Spiritualism. Some of the lead- 
ing scientists, such as Hare, Wallace, Crookes, Var- 
ley, De Morgan, Barrett, and Lodge, have, after 
patient investigation, become advocates, but the fash- 
ion has been to ignore the phenomena, which are posi- 
tive and amenable to law, and made no supernatural 
claim for their cause. Physical science is external, 
and prejudiced on the material side. Spiritualism 
supplies the deficiency by seeking the soul of things. 
Is It Legerdemain?— Such is the first question asked 



40 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

by the investigator. It is impossible for a human be- 
ing- to move physical matter without contact, and the 
moving of ponderable substances without such con- 
tact settles the explanations by legerdemain, self-de- 
lusion, and collusion. A rap, or the playing of a mu- 
sical instrument at a distance from the medium, is 
conclusive on this point. The movement of a table, 
while the hands of the circle rest on its surface, of 
itself is not satisfactory ; but it becomes so by the in- 
telligence of its answers. If it answers in such a man- 
ner as to identify the controlling force with the de- 
parted whom it purports to be, imparting facts un- 
known to the medium or circle, the cause, whatever it 
may be, is removed outside of the circle. 

The facts which prove that matter has been moved 
without contact, that musical instruments have been 
played, and intelligence manifested superior to that 
of the medium, are so common, that, for the present 
we take them for granted. Volumes might readily 
be filled with them ; but scepticism, to be thoroughly 
convinced, must witness for itself, as belief cannot 
grow out of the statement of what others have seen. 

Are the Senses Reliable?— If the medium does not 
deceive, perhaps the members of the circle are self- 
deceived; perhaps their senses are unreliable. No- 
where else are they so deceptive as in the border-land 
lying between the known physical realm and what has 
been called the supernatural. It has become fashion- 
able to ridicule everything of a spiritual character as 
miraculous, and hence unworthy of credence. Be- 
cause the senses are sometimes deceived, their evidence 
is entirely discarded unless susceptible of proof. This 
is by no means justifiable. All knowledge is referable 
to them; and we, in the end, are compelled to accept 
their testimony. 

The senses often become deranged. The ear hears, 
the eye sees, when there is nothing external to pro- 
duce sight or sound, the cause residing in organic 
changes in the nerves or brain. The deaf hear roar- 
ing or whistling sounds, as of the wind, or falling 
water, or rush of steam ; the abnormal action of the 
auditory nerves simulating the effects of sounds nat- 
urally produced. This does not prove that there is no 
reliability in hearing. Two deaf persons listening for 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 41 

the same sound would not receive it alike. Hissing to 
one would be roaring to the other, proving that neither 
heard an external sound. The normal ear would hear 
no sound, and its evidence would be receivable. The 
records of insanity furnish innumerable instances of 
the deception of the senses, which have been employed 
to account for spiritual phenomena. If the senses 
are not to be trusted, if the normal cannot be dis- 
tinguished from the abnormal, it should be known, 
and distrust awakened. 

The savants, who annually publish ''expositions" of 
Spiritualism, talk as if the world was a world of 
hallucinations,— an unreliable, phantom existence. It 
is true all are liable to hallucinations; yet such liabil- 
ity does not necessarily indicate insanity. Disease 
often produces hallucinations ; as in delirium tremens, 
fevers, and fasting. 

Spiritual Phenomena, Hallucinations or Illusions?— 
Hallucination is a false perception which has no ob- 
jective reality ; existing only in the mind. An illusion 
is the false perception of a real object. A proper un- 
derstanding of the series of facts co-ordinated into 
these two classes would show the puerility of refer- 
ring spiritual manifestations to either. If a score of 
persons subject to illusions were in company, no two 
would be hallucinated alike. If one said the table 
moved, there would not be another to corroborate 
him. If two should claim to see the table move, it 
would be considered by expert physicians as a dem- 
onstration that they were not hallucinated, and saw 
with normal sight. 

At circles all the members see, feel, and hear alike. 
How, then, can it be called illusion or hallucination? 
If it were even probable that the members of one or 
more circles were hallucinated, that thousands should 
be so is not only improbable but impossible. 

Learned men have unqualifiedly endorsed the phe- 
nomena called spiritual, and bravely announced their 
belief. It is not a single case of insanity, but of mill- 
ions, all infatuated alike, if they are infatuated ; and, 
as the quoted facts show, rarely, if ever, are two indi- 
viduals contemporaneously hallucinated alike, — the 
chances of their being so become infinitely improb- 
able. 



42 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

A list of the names of those who have embraced 
Spiritualism would include the leading men of the 
nations— statesmen who wield the most power, scien- 
tists, and almost all the advanced and radical think- 
ers. If the senses are valueless in informing as to a 
table 's moving, how can they be trusted as to its not 
moving? If twenty persons think they see it move 
when it is stationary, who is to judge whether it be 
stationary or not? Then we float into a sea of un- 
reality, and science itself has no basis. If the senses 
of sight, hearing, touch, are unreliable, presenting 
what is false, 7, en there is no certainty anywhere. 
This once favorite theory is now throAvn aside by 
more enlightened opponents, but is still urged by 
those who have not taken the trouble to acquaint 
themselves with the phenomena. 

Evil Spirits, or the Devil?— A standing argument 
that all communications are from evil spirits, and as 
such denounced by the Bible, is drawn from the story 
of the "Witch of Endor." Because Saul consulted 
her, it is said that God condemned him to death. A 
careful reading will convince an unprejudiced mind 
that this conclusion is erroneous. God, through the 
Prophet Samuel, commanded Saul to smite the 
Amalekites and destroy all the people and their flocks 
and their kind Agag. Saul smote the people, but 
brought off the flocks and the king. Because of this 
disobedience, Samuel struck down Agag with a sword 
and in rage pronounced the doom of Saul. Twenty 
years after, when Saul was hedged around with ene- 
mies and the Lord would give him no response, he 
sought the ''woman of Endor," of the class he had 
remorselessly persecuted in disguise. The woman, or 
Priestess, at once penetrated his disguise, and when 
he assured her and she became calm, the Spirit of 
Samuel came and repeated the fateful sentence he 
had pronounced a score of years before. Who more 
fitting for such a mission than the spirit of the great 
prophet? The narrative is in perfect accord with the 
teachings of the spiritual philosophy. 

There is not at present a court in the civilized world 
that would listen to a charge of witchcraft, for no in- 
telligent person believes that a witch ever existed. The 
"Woman of Endor" could not have been a witch in 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 43 

the modern meaning of that word, one in league with 
the devil. Her impressibility, which at once pene- 
trated the disguise of Saul, her sympathy for him in 
his distress, extending to his followers and their 
beasts, show that she was superiorly endowed as a 
woman and a medium. 

Now that the once powerful Satan has passed with 
the darkness of ignorance into Limbo, it is a waste of 
time to answer this question. It is the old phrase re- 
peated with dreary iteration by biassed minds, and 
considered by the unthinking, ample reply to progres- 
sive propositions in the realm of thought. 

When Luther lit the fires of the Reformation, and 
Catholicism saw the fierce flames rise high, and lap 
its most cherished institutions, the priests mounted 
the summits of their grim towers, and shrieked in 
wild refrain, "The Devil! -the Devil!" 

When England threw off the Catholic yoke, and be- 
came spiritually free, there came across the wide sea, 
and echoed along the shores of the channel, that por- 
tentious growl, ' ' The Devil ! ' ' 

When a comet flashed on the evening sky, and 
shook out its fiery train, the Pope prayed to be saved 
from the arch-fiend, the Devil ! 

When a concussion, manifesting intelligence, is 
heard, and a table is moved by invisible power ; when 
there are those who fall into an unconscious state, 
and have the realities of the future life revealed to 
them — the clergy from their pulpits shriek, "The 
Dev ii ! ' ' Ah ! Satan, you are much abused. You have 
been the scape-goat for the folly and ignorance of the 
world. 

If evil spirits can communicate, why not the good i 
Ah! here is an unfortunate dilemma. Can a benev- 
olent God let loose upon mankind an innumerable 
host of demons, and allow them to delude the children 
of men, and forbid the good and loving ones to hold 
communion? Dives was an evil spirit, but he could 
not return to earth, and hence, requested Lazarus to 
bear a message to his brethren. The Bible thus proves 
that while the evil could not, the good could return 
and communicate. "The tree is known by its fruit. 
The good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, nor the 
-evil tree good fruit. ' ' Spiritualism makes men better. 



44 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

It teaches a sublime code of morality. It inculcates 
virtue, goodness and purity. It holds forth the most 
exalted motives for right-doing. It destroys oppres- 
sion. It gives assurance of an after-life, and the pres- 
ence of loved ones gone before. Can such pure waters 
flow from a corrupt fountain ? Can the bread of life 
be gathered from the poisonous upas ? 

"The Sub-Conscious Self."— Perhaps no theory or 
explanation has had wider attention or received more 
authority than that of the ' ' sub-conscious self. ' ' This 
has been put forward as a new theory, but really orig- 
inated with Dr. Carpenter more than twenty-five years 
ago. That distinguished physiologist explained the 
phenomena of Spiritualism, at least the part not refer- 
able to fraud, to "ideo-motor activity" and "uncon- 
scious cerebration. ' ' This is identical with the ' ' sub- 
conscious self. ' ' What is this theory ? It is supposed 
that there is underneath, and unrecognized by the 
senses, another self, which unconsciously stores up im- 
pressions, and on occasion manifests knowledge and 
attainments, of which the normal self is incapable. 
This in plain English means that the mind uncon- 
sciously thinks, acts, and wills, without recognizing 
its own activity. The "Subjective Mind" is another 
term for the same thing. 

Had the promulgators of this theory taken into con- 
sideration the physiological origin of "unconscious 
cerebration," and "sub-consciousness," they would 
have recognized its weakness, .and not hazarded their 
reputation by its advocacy. 

The sub- consciousness recognized by biologists, is 
quite distinct from that of this theory. Its origin is in 
the reflex nerve system. 

To make the matter plain, we will compare the 
nerve system of man with that of vertebrates lower 
in the scale of being. In the lowest the nervous sys- 
tem is only a simple line of nerve fiber, indicative of 
the spinal cord. There is no specialized brain. In 
higher forms there are enlargements of this cord, each 
enlargement of ganglion being surrounded by a bony 
envelop, or vertebra, which, uniting with others, 
form the spinal column. Yet higher, several of these 
ganglia at one end coalesce and form a true brain. 
This brain has specialized functions, distinct from 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 45 

what may be called the special brain, yet is united to it 
by fibrous ties. Man may be said to have two brains : 
The spinal, which consists of all ganglia outside the 
superior brain, and the superior brain, which is en- 
veloped in the skull. Organic activity and functions 
are all referable to the spinal brain. The heart, the 
stomach, the lungs, and all organs send nerve-fibres to 
special ganglia, and fibers return through which 
force, whatever it may be, is sent to maintain their 
activity. In the main these movements are uncon- 
sciously performed, the superior brain not recogniz- 
ing them. In a few cases it has partial control, as in 
breathing. 

In the amphibia the spinal or ganglionic brain is 
of. more importance than the true brain, and the lat- 
ter may be removed and the animal continue to live 
indefinitely. In man there is extreme specialization 
of function. The conscious brain by its intense ac- 
tivity, conceals, obscures other manifestations, yet the 
spinal brain is active, the store-house of heredity, and 
of instinct, and automatic action. It may be educated 
is it were, independent. This is illustrated by the 
musician whose hands, after long practice, move over 
the keys without thought. Walking may or may not 
be under mental control. Over a rough road where 
every step has to be thought of, walking is wearisome, 
but when a level spot is reached, the conscious brain 
ceases to act, and the movement is made by force sent 
from a spinal nerve center, and the mental effort 
rests. 

The superior brain is formed by the coalescence of 
several ganglia. One forms the cerebrum whose espe- 
cial function is thought. Beneath is the cerebellum 
which is a sort of relay battery and co-ordinator, and 
consolidated into these beneath are the sensatory 
ganglia. I am especially desirous to make clear and 
thoroughly comprehended, this double nerve-system, 
because it not only shows what may be expected from 
the lower, but its limitations as well. When it is ap- 
parent that this limitation fails far short of the phe- 
nomena which have been referred to it, further con- 
tention is unnecessary. 

The conscious self may by a process of reasoning, 
which means co-ordination of cause and effect, as ob- 



46 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

served by perception, reach the region of pure 
thought. By so doing it rises entirely above the obr 
jective causes with which it began. Sub-conscious- 
ness never arises above impressions, nor manifests in- 
telligence not first impressed upon it. Like a machine 
it moves with marvellous precision along certain 
courses, but on no other. The application of the 
theory of the sub-conscious self to the explanation of 
Spiritual phenomena, is met by the potent objection 
that it makes the sub-conscious self, which resides in 
the spinal brain, superior and endowed with almost 
miraculous power, over the conscious self, which re- 
sides in a wonderfully specialized and developed 
organ. It makes the lower immeasurably superior to 
the higher. When the sensitive or medium gives 
names, dates, describes persons or events unknown to 
him, the theory breaks down in its explanation. There 
are manifestations which have passed for spiritual, 
which really are of this unconscious, automatic or- 
igin, and these the theory beautifully explains, but this 
scarcely breaks the ranks of solid facts which resist 
its solution and can only be unitized and understood 
by reference to spiritual causes. 

The mediumistic state is almost identical with 
"sub-consciousness," as denned by the theory, but is 
distinct from the real sub-consciousness of the physi- 
ologist. The real has limitations which fall far short 
of embracing the phenomena attending mediumship. 

Illustrations to an unlimited extent might be drawn 
from the line of authors, artists, inventors, statesmen 
and warriors. In fact, scarcely a single one of all the 
brilliant names which lead on the scroll of fame but 
might be taken as an example of sensitiveness to the 
control of superior intelligences, which this theory 
would refer to the "sub-conscious self." 

Perhaps the trance of the greatest of all poets, Ten- 
nyson, is the clearest, as we have the description in 
his own words in a letter written in 1874 to a friend. 
He says : "I have never had any revelation through 
anaesthetics, but a kind of waking trance (this for 
want of a better term) I have frequently had, quite 
up from boyhood, when I have been alone. This has 
often come upon me through repeating my own name 
to myself silently, till, all at once, as it were, out of the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM, 47 

tensity of the consciousness of the individuality, the 
individuality itself seemed to resolve and. fade away 
into boundless being ; and this is not a composed state, 
but the clearest, the surest of the surest, utterly be- 
yond words, where death was almost a laughable im- 
possibility, the loss of personality (if it were) seeming 
no extinction, but the only true life. I am ashamed 
of my description. Have I not said the state was 
utterly beyond words?" 

The case of blind Tom is on the other extreme. In 
the poet is the ripe scholarship and assiduous train- 
ing the resultant of highest culture ; in the latter, an 
uncouth, ignorant, idiotic negro. Yet "his subjective 
self" is not idiotic. It is supposed to perform musical 
feats, which the trained musician would not attempt. 
Now we have a choice of two theories ; to suppose his 
subjective mind is superior to the objective mind of 
the majority of musicians or that in this semi-uncon- 
scious or trance state he is capable of being used as 
an instrument by spiritual intelligences for the pro- 
duction of music. 

Ole Bull, to the physical conditions of impressibil- 
ity, added culture. Hence he was able to recognize 
his spiritual visitors. On one occasion, the voice of 
Handel murmured in his ear — after a rendition of that 
composer's "Hallelujah Chorus"— "Only Shadow 
Music Sung by Shadows." My soul asked, "Where, 
then, is the substance, Master ? " "In my world, ' ' the 
voice replied, "where alone all things are real and 
music is the speech." 

Magnetism, Electricity, Od Force.— -Each of these 
was once prominently advocated as the cau^e of the 
manifestations, and quietly sank out of sight, and now 
requires only passing mention. Those who understand 
the laws of these forces well know that tables of 
wood cannot be charged with electricity or become 
magnetic. «If they were, instruments would detect 
the presence of each, and yet when thus applied such 
instruments show the absence of these forces. The 
table, when moving, will not attract the smallest iron 
tiling, any more than it will, electrically, attract a 
pith ball. It sounds exceedingly wise to refer a fact 
to electricity or magnetism, and has been quite the 
fashion. The human body cannot charge a table elec- 



48 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

trically or magnetically. It never exhibits the latter 
force. Both these hypotheses are untenable. The 
odic force is equally so. In none of Reichenbach's 
experiments did he find odic force capable of moving 
a particle of matter. Acting on the nervous system, it 
attracted or repelled persons susceptible to its influ- 
ence. It acts entirely and exclusively on living be- 
ings, and has not the least effect on inorganic bodies. 
This theory nourished for a time, made popular by its 
sounding name, and the ignorance of those who re- 
ceived, as well as of those whose taught it. Od force 
has no more intelligence than iron, or lime, or heat. 
Plow, then, account for intelligent communications? 
Does it absorb them from the minds of the circle? 
How account for its intelligence transcending the 
knowledge of the circle ? 

Mental Phenomena.— Theorists attempt to account 
for the mental manifestations, as trance, writing, etc., 
by mesmerism or hypnotism. Here, there is a show of 
argument, for the impressibility that allows a spirit 
freed from the physical body to communicate enables 
a mesmeriser to impress his thoughts on his subject. 
The spiritual and mesmeric influence are mixed, be- 
cause they depend on the same laws and conditions. 
It is probable that much that is received as spiritual 
might be readily traced to mesmeric causes. But mes- 
meric impressions do not go outside of the person or 
objects en rapport with the subject. They never re- 
veal what is unknown to those in connection. Spirit- 
ual impressibility reaches outside of surroundings, and 
reveals the thoughts of the spirit en rapport. No one 
pretends that hypnotism moves articles of furniture 
without physical contact. It can be employed only 
in the domain of mind, and fails even then in giving 
an explanation. 

How can the following fact be explained by any of 
the old theories of psychology? I state it because of 
the authority, not because it is unique. It is related 
by Dr. Hare ("Spiritualism Scientifically Demon- 
strated," p. 171) : 

il I was sitting in my solitary, third-story room at 
Cape Island, invoking my sister, as usual, when, to 
my surprise, I saw 'Oadwallader' spelled out on the 
desk. 4 My old friend, Cadwallader ? ' said I. 'Yes.' 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 49 

A communication of much interest ensued; but, be- 
fore concluding, I requested him, as a test, to give me 
the name of the person whom I met in an affair of 
honor, more than fifty years ago, when he was my sec- 
ond. The name was forthwith given, by pointing out 
on my desk the letters requisite to spell it. Now, as 
the spirit of General Cadwallader, during more than 
fifteen months that other friends had sought to com- 
municate with me ; had never made me a visit, why 
should his name have been spelled out when I had not 
the remotest idea of his coming, and was expecting 
another spirit,— the only one who had been with me 
at the Cape ? Further, the breakfast bell being rung, 
I said, ' Will you come again after breakfast ? ' I un- 
derstood him to consent to the invitation. Accord- 
ingly, when afterwards I reseated myself I looked for 
him; but lo! ' Martha/ my sister's name, was spelled 
out." 

The Position Taken by Some Scientific Men has not 
been scientific, viz., to receive and calmly judge with- 
out prejudice. When Sir David Brewster, in a seance, 
saw a table rise from the carpet, he cautiously said, 
"It seems to rise." He would not admit the testi- 
mony of his senses, or was not honest. When Faraday 
was told that his table-turning theory had failed, that 
tables were actually suspended in the air without 
visible support, he refused to go and see for himself, 
and declared he was "heartily tired of the whole mat- 
ter." No one has honestly investigated but has be- 
come a believer. Those who oppose are, without ex- 
ception, those who know least about the subject. 

It is the misfortune of theorizers that there are two 
classes of phenomena to account for, — the physical 
and the mental ; and a theory, however nicely ad- 
justed to one, is sure to be overthrown by the other. 
It has been a favorite hobby with many to say, with 
a wise accent, "It results from some unknown law of 
mind." If the mental phenomena were alone, this 
might satisfy superficiality; but is not the rising of 
a table into the air a wonderful feat for an ' ' unknown 
law of mind?" So, account for the physical phenom- 
ena, and there lies an immense field of psychic mani- 
festations wholly beyond explanation. 
Many of the theories advanced require a much 



50 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

greater stretch of credulity than the acceptance of 
the theory of the spiritual source of the phenomena. 

The Intelligence Manifested Is Human Intelligence. 
— It is conceded that the communicating power, what- 
ever it be, manifests intelligence. 

Volumes of facts might be introduced in evidence 
that it is not derived from the medium or circle. Ad- 
mit that these manifestations are explainable by i ■ un- 
known laws of mind," by "Odylic force," or any 
other theory, will not the same apply to those record- 
ed in the Bible? Christ becomes a deluded hypnotic 
subject, and the miracles hallucinations ! There is no 
alternative, and material science is fast driving Chris- 
tianity to the wall. It has captured most of the think- 
ers of the world. Spiritualism is the last stronghold 
against the tide of Materialism, and if it fails to estab- 
lish its claims the latter will be supremely triumphant. 

Only One Recourse, the acceptance of the spiritual 
origin of the phenomena, and then Christianity be- 
comes Spiritualized, and the so-called supernatural 
in Hindostan, China, Persia, Europe, and America at 
once becomes amenable to law, and order is discerni- 
ble amid even the confusion of dogmatic beliefs. 



CHAPTER II. 
EVIDENCES OF SPIRITUALISM. 



Materialism v. Spiritualism— The Impossible — The Positive 
— Testimony of the Senses — Belief Educational — Spiritual- 
ism Not New — First Manifestations — They Assume a New 
Character — Advent of Spiritualism in France — Unexpected 
Report — Professors Hare and Crookes — The Evidence of 
Psychometry — What Good? — Personal Experiences — A 
Lesson in Spirit Communion — Contradictory Spirit Com- 
munications. 

Materialism vs. Spiritualism.— It is the fashion to 
discard the supernatural and miraculous. Even the 
churches have become sceptical ; and their great lead- 
ers scoff at the spiritual. What Hume wrote in the 
last century, which made his name synonymous with 
infidelity, has now become, in reality, a part of their 
belief. 

This sceptical materialism is a natural reaction 
against the superstitions of the dark ages, as Spirit- 
ualism is a counteraction against its darkness. The 
antagonism of the church, more than from any other 
cause, comes from the unbelief in anything spiritual, 
the rank materialism of the laity and ministers. 

There has been a constant attempt to unite Spirit- 
ualism with Materialism, or in milder phrase, free 
thought and liberalism. It has been the custom for 
the managers of spiritual meetings in America to ad- 
vertise that "the Spiritualists and Liberalists" would 
meet in such a hall or grove. Liberalism and free 
thought are high-sounding but vague terms, which ad- 
mit of a great diversity of meanings, and when thus 
attached to Spiritualism they have been prolific causes 
of bringing in issues remote from those desired by 
Spiritualists. 

All Spiritualists are Liberalists and free thinkers, 
but not all free thinkers and Liberalists are Spiritual- 



52 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ists. They are in many instances violently opposed to 
Spiritualism as a superstition. In essential aims and 
purposes Spiritualism is much nearer related to Chris- 
tianity than to Materialism. There are many things 
held in common with the first; none whatever with 
the last, except the assertion of freedom of thought 
and destruction of superstititon ; hence a handbill 
announcing that "the Spiritualists and Materialists 
will hold a meeting," etc., is more astonishing than an 
announcement of "the Spiritualists and Methodists," 
or any other church, would be. 

The result fully justifies this statement, for wher- 
ever and whenever tried, the attempt has been an 
utter failure. No persuasion can make water and oil 
unite, without blending both into something far re- 
mote and distinct. The platform, where Materialism 
and Spiritualism have equal rights, has been an arena 
where one destroyed what the other built. 

There are only two methods possible by which the 
origin and evolution of the universe can be explained : 
— the material and spiritual. The first sees in matter 
all potentialities, all possibilities, and claims that of 
and by itself it passes through the changes called crea- 
tion. There is no need of external intelligence or God. 
There is no spirit existence. Love, justice, truth, and 
right grow out of selfishness ; are a part of it, and go 
out with the expiring taper called life. This is the 
philosophy of muck ; the science of dirt. 

Spiritualism sets out with the claim, that beneath 
the fleeting phantasmagoria called creation, is a realm 
of force and energy, of which we only know by the 
effects we observe. Justice, right, truth and love, 
are — not because in the "struggle for existence" man 
found such most expedient as rules of conduct, but 
because they are inwrought into the foundation of 
things. The human being is not a wave thrown up 
from the seething sea of life, to fall back again in 
foam, but the heir of an infinite existence. 

How can two systems, so radically distinct and an- 
tagonistic, unite ? 

Spiritualists seek to become free from superstition, 
and liberal in the broadest sense. But as they have 
escaped from the dogmas of the churches, they have 
at the same time passed over the barren fields of 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 53 

Materialism. The first taught that future existence 
was foreign to this life, and was bestowed because 
of acceptance of certain beliefs, or for the purpose of 
fearful punishment. The latter would have us be- 
lieve that there is no future life, and that our hopes 
and aspirations are cruel mockeries. Neither satis- 
fied, and we came to this mountain summit, whence 
we can gaze into the dim vistas of two eternities, the 
past and the future. In the past we see the infinite 
toil and suffering, by which nature has pursued her 
underrating aim, until the perfect fruitage of the 
Tree of Life, appears as man with his moral and in- 
tellectual consciousness. Beyond, into the future, 
we see the escaping spirit carrying forward into an- 
other state of existence in unbroken continuity the in- 
dividuality which has been the object of creation's 
infinite travail. 

The muck philosophers may talk of the morality of 
chemical changes, the religion of the foot-rule and pint- 
cup, by which they essay to fathom the depths of the 
universe, and measure the aspirations of the soul ; the 
Agnostic may bow to his crucible of dirt, from which 
the dictations of science are to be received as finali- 
ties ; the Spiritualist has a science and philosophy be- 
yond them all. 

We do not, with egotistical presumption, after elim- 
inating God, bow in servile homage to the "Unknow- 
able;" for, to pronounce on what can and what can- 
not be known, we must be all-knowing. Yet the 
wisest philosopher or scientist cannot explain beyond 
Ihe immediate cause of a single effect. With true un- 
derstanding of the Baconian method, the Spiritualist 
sets no such boundary to his investigation. He creates 
no "Great Mogul" of the "Unknowable" to bar his 
progress. On the contrary he affirms that to know is 
the birthright of the spirit, and its possibilities in this 
direction have no limitation. Having for its aim the 
development of the highest faculties of the mind, and 
the perfection of character ; uniting the present with 
the future; bringing the world of spirits near, and 
into direct relation with us in our daily lives ; cheer- 
ing as well as instructing us by inspiration, and 
kindling our aspirations for the perfection and sweet- 
ness of the beyond, Spiritualism has little in com- 



54 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM, 

mon with any other system, and least of all with Ma- 
terialism. 

How vain, then, to attempt to marshal the forces of 
the two. The Spiritualist has not time to waste in 
discussing issues dead in the times of Hume and Vol- 
taire. He has not time to listen to tirades against 
Christianity and the churches, the defamation of gos- 
pel ministers, or the coarse, cheap ridicule which 
passes for criticism of the Bible. A vast constructive 
work is before him, and he is assured that when his 
temple is completed, with its deep foundations, rest- 
ing on the material world, and its dome alight with 
spiritual knowledge, none will go astray from its 
gateway. 

The Impossible. — Nothing can be pronounced im- 
possible that does not conflict with the laws of Na- 
ture, and the vast complication of unknown forces be- 
yond the narrow marge of the known will prevent 
the wise from rashly hazarding an opinion as to the 
impossibility of an occurrence. 

Columbus, Galileo, Harvey, Kepler, Darwin; every 
one who who has given expression to a new thought 
has been met by the verdict, "Impossible." After a 
time their discoveries became possible, and the posi- 
tive assurance of past ignorance was recalled with 
pitying smiles. 

The Positive. — There are few things which are posi- 
tive. Mathematics is the only science which may be 
regarded as fixed. A problem in geometry depending 
on the unva^ing relations of lines and angles, cannot 
change, and is a positive expression. 

Outside of mathematics the positive field is very 
narrow, though daily enlarging with the acquisition 
of knowledge. Tf an object moves under conditions 
never observed before, as a table by invisible power, 
the evidence of one witness might be impeached, but 
the testimony of a host of witnesses would be de- 
cisive. If several persons of known veracity agree 
in their statements, it is morally certain that they 
speak the truth. Thus, if a witness is of sufficient 
veracity and clearness of sight to speak the truth ten 
times out of eleven, then there are ten chances to one 
that any statement he may make is correct. If an- 
other witness, of equal reliability, aver the same, the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 55 

chances are ten times ten, or one hundred. If a third 
testify to the same, the probabilities are ten times one 
hundred, or one thousand. 

The Testimony of the Senses is received in law as 
prima-facie evidence. No judge would suppose that 
he was imposed upon, and no counsel argue that wit- 
nesses should be set aside, because no faith can be 
placed in the eyes or ears. Life and death are made 
dependent on the senses; otherwise all received rules 
of evidence must be set aside, and we live in a dream 
world, and so hallucinated are we that there are none 
to tell us of our hallucination. Shall we receive 
Berkeley's idea, that the external world is only a 
fancy of the mind without any real existence? 

When thousands of reliable witnesses testify that 
they have seen objects moved without contact, the 
probabilities are infinite that they have done so. No 
amount of negative testimony is of any avail. That 
a thousand individuals have not seen a table move 
does not invalidate the testimony of one who has. 

Belief Educational.— We place the greatest reliance 
on the evidence of our senses ; and, although we say 
we take that of others reported to us as equally valu- 
able, practically we do not believe until we have seen, 
especially that which is unusual and out of the com- 
mon order. Our egotism makes us consider ourselves 
the best judges in the world. Belief is a matter of 
education ; and we have little hope that all the argu- 
ment possible to produce will be of any avail. Hence 
We rely on facts. The advent of Spiritualism is 
through facts, and not beliefs. Its purpose is to place 
positive knowledge in their stead. 

Not New. — Spirit-communion is not new. History 
records it; the poets have sung of it in all ages. It 
forms a part of the sacred and common literature of 
all races. The Old and New Testaments are in- 
wrought with allusions to its beauty. 

In the year 364 of our era, in the reign of the Ro- 
man Emperor Valens, mediums conversed with de- 
parted spirits by means of rappings, and employed 
the alphabet. The spirit pendulum, resembling some- 
what the dial in its method, was then in use. It con- 
sisted of a ring suspended by a thread over a basin of 
water, around the margin of which the alphabet was 
arranged. By successive swinging to the desired let- 



56 THE A&CANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ters words and sentences were spelled. Numa Pom- 
pilius used it in this manner in augury. Such a pen- 
dulum has been used by modern mediums successfully. 

The practice passed into disrepute as a black art, 
and dealing with the Devil. Learned men scoff at 
the dial as a new trick. If it be one, it is fifteen cen- 
turies old. 

First Manifestations.— In the little village of 
Hydesville, N. Y., stood a small, unpretending dwel- 
ling, temporarily occupied by an honest farmer and 
his family, — a wife and two daughters. He removed 
to it on the 11th of December, 1847; and, from the 
first, the manifestations began. "The noises increased 
nightly ; and occasionally they heard footsteps in the 
rooms. The children felt something heavy lie on their 
feet when in bed; and Kate felt, as it were, a cold 
hand passed over her face. Sometimes the bed-clothes 
were pulled off ; chairs and dining tables were moved 
from their places. Mr. and Mrs. Fox, night after 
night, lighted a candle, and explored the whole house 
in vain. Raps were made on the doors as they stood 
close to them ; but, on suddenly opening them, no-one 
was visible." They were far from superstitious, and 
still hoped for some natural explanation, especially 
as the annoyance always took place in the night. 

They Assume a New Character.— In March, 1848, 
they assumed a new character. The children's bed 
had been moved into the room of their parents; but 
scarcely had Mrs. Fox laid down when the noises be- 
came as violent as before. The children shouted, 
"Here they are again." Their father shook the 
sashes to see if they were not moved by the wind, when 
the lively Kate observed that the sounds were imi- 
tated. She then snapped her fingers, and aske'd it to 
repeat, which was done. She then simply made mo- 
tions with her thumb and finger, and the rap followed. 
The invisible power, whatever it was, could see and 
hear. Mrs. Fox's attention was arrested. She asked 
it to count ten, which it did. "How old is my daugh- 
ter Margaret?" Twelve raps. "And Kate?" Nine. 
"How many children have I?" Seven. "Ah! you 
blunder," she thought; "try again." Seven. Then 
she suddenly thought. "Are they all alive?" No 
answer. ' ' How many are living ? - ' Six raps. ' ' How 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 57 

many dead ? ' ' One rap. She had lost one child. She 
then asked if it was a man. No answer. "Was it a 
spirit? Raps. She then asked it* the neighbors might 
hear it; and Mrs. Redfield was called in, who only 
laughed at the idea of a ghost, but was soon made 
serious by its correcting her about the number of her 
children, insisting on one more than she counted. She 
too, had lost one , and, when she recollected this, she 
burst into tears. 

It is noteworthy that the advent of Spiritualism 
was foretold two years in advance (1846) by that re- 
markable seer, A. J. Davis. He said, while in a trance, 
"It is a truth that spirits commune with one another 
while one is in the body and the other in the higher 
spheres — and this, too, while the person in the body 
is unconscious of the influx, and hence cannot be con- 
vinced of the fact ; and this truth will present itself ere 
long in the form of a living demonstration." 

Advent of Spiritualism in France.— About the time 
Spiritualism was introduced into the United States, 
or somewhat previously, M. Cahagnet, a working-man 
of France, had by means of clairvoyance solved the 
great problem of spiritual existence and the possi- 
bility of intercourse with spirits. When perusing his 
book, "The Celestial Telegraph, " everyone must be 
forcibly struck with his candour, his honesty of pur- 
pose, untiring zeal, and general accuracy. We can 
only regret that, in his ardour, he admitted state- 
ments without sufficient circumspection, which 
weaken rather than strengthen his positions. His 
magnetized clairvoyants taught him almost all the 
great principles of existence, as believed by Spiritual- 
ists at present. The identification of spirits was well 
understood by him; and his best clairvoyant rarely 
failed to give accurate descriptions of spirits that she 
said were present. 

A few instances of this will illustrate the countless 
facts narrated by this author. 

"M. Renarcl, of whom I have already spoken,— a 
man to whom I am indebted for the little knowledge 
I possess in magnetism,— being called to Paris on 
business, begged me to send Adele to sleep, and give 
him a sitting similar to what he had read of in my 
journal. I was most happy to comply with the wishes 



58 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

of so sincere a friend, and so judicious and well-in- 
formed a man. Scarcely was Adele asleep, when he 
called for a person named Desforges, an old friend 
of his, who had been dead fifteen years. Desforges 
appeared. M. Renard had so accurate a description 
given him of his friend, that it left no doubt as to the 
reality of his apparition. A dispute took place be- 
tween him and Adele (though he was not en rapport 
with her) as to the dress of this person, — Adele main- 
taining that he appeared to her in a blouse slit in 
front; while M. Renard declared that he had never 
seen him in such an article of dress, and usually wore 
a jacket or round vest. After puzzling his brains for 
some time, M. Renard recollected, in fact, that, some 
time before he left his friend, people began to wear, 
in his part of the country, blouses of this kind and he 
wore such an one as Adele described. It would be 
useless to mention the minute details, attitude, lan- 
guage, etc., with which Adele persuades persons con- 
sulting her on such a point. " 

"Up to this day I had never desired that any of 
my clairvoyants should see any of the deceased mem- 
bers of my own family, for a reason that will be ap- 
preciated, viz., that they might have depicted to me 
an image engraven on my memory. I had a mind to 
try Madame Gouget. I asked for my mother by her 
Christian name, and also by her maiden name, and 
was very much surprised when Madame Gouget told 
me she saw a very old woman. After a minute de- 
scription, and particularly as to a mark that she told 
me she perceived on the left cheek of this woman, I 
recognized in her my grandmother, who was precisely 
as Madame Gouget described her to me. This appari- 
tion, uncalled for, and which I was far from expect- 
ing, was owing to the resemblance of the names of 
my mother and grandmother. I ought to have asked 
for my mother by her maiden name. I had already 
fallen into like error with Adele, when several mem- 
bers of the same family presented themselves on ac- 
count of the resemblance in the names. To make sure 
whether Madame Gouget really beheld my grand- 
mother, I put to her questions, the answers to which 
removed all my doubts in this respect. My mother 
appeared at the same time ; and the portrait she 
painted of her was quite true. ' ' 

"Louise, Adele 's niece, comes in haste to tell her 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 59 

that her brother is about to appear to her. ' Oh, here 
he is ! It is my brother Alphonse, who died in Africa. ' 
'When?' 'Four years ago.' 'On what day?' 'I don't 
know.' 'Ask him.' 'The 11th of August.' 'How is 
he attired V 'In the uniform of a dragoon. ' ' Is that 
his dress in heaven ? ' ' No ; it is that of the corps in 
which he served before his death; and it was in this 
costume that I saw him on earth. ' ' Why is he dressed 
thus?' 'Spirits must surely appear in the costume 
and condition by which they were known on earth; 
otherwise we should be unable to recognize them.' 
'Since you did not ask for him, who told him to come 
and see you?' 'My little niece.' 'Is she with him at 
this moment?' 'Yes; and how beautiful she is! Her 
fine black hair falls in ringlets on her shoulders, as on 
the day of her first communion.' 'And Alphonse — 
does he appear to you handsome?' 'Oh, indeed he 
does. His forehead, which was, however, very dark, 
appears to me as white as snow. He tells me that it 
will not be long before I see my mother, father, and 
brother-in-law. I have no wish, however, to see the 
last-named one; he was too wicked on earth.' 'If in 
heaven there is no wickedness, you must not think 
of the past.' 'I won't see him V Adele stretches out 
her arm to detain her niece, who has just quitted her, 
despite her efforts. It is surprising to see the mimicry, 
the apparent mutual understanding, the contrariety. 
One cannot doubt the reality of the scenes in which 
the imagination, as we may believe, is not always 
strongest; for nothing appears to respond to the 
caprices of the clairvoyant." 

The way was thus prepared in France, where Spirit- 
ualism has made a rapid but singular growth. 

Unexpected Report.— *LTie often abrupt and un- 
looked-for message from a spirit-friend is conclusive 
evidence that it does not originate in the minds of the 
circle or medium. Prof. Hare records some interest- 
ing facts bearing on this subject. 

"Agreeable to my experience in a multitude of 
cases, spirits have reported themselves who were 
wholly unexpected, and when others were expected. 
When I was expecting my sister in Boston, my brother 
reported himself. Lastly, when expecting her, 'Cad- 
wallader' was spelled out, being the name of an old 



60 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

friend, who forthwith gave me a test proving his 
identity. As this spirit had never visited my desk 
before, T had not the smallest expectation of his com- 
ing." 

"Being at Cape May, one of my guardian spirits 
was with me frequently. On the 3d instant, at one 
o'clock a. m., I requested the faithful being in ques- 
tion to go to my friend, Mrs. Gourlay, in Philadelphia, 
and request her to induce Dr. Gourlay to go to the 
bank to ascertain at what time a note would be due, 
and that I could be at the instrument (his dial) at 
half-past three o'clock to receive the answer. Accord- 
ingly, at that time, my spirit-friend manifested her- 
self, and gave me the result of the inquiry. On my 
return to the city, I learned from Mrs. Gourlay that 
my angelic messenger had interrupted a communica- 
tion which was taking place through the spiritscope, 
in order to communicate my message; and, in conse- 
quence, her husband and brother went to the bank 
and made the inquiry, by which the result was that 
communication to me at half -past three o'clock by 
my spirit-friend." 

In the experience of Mrs. Gourlay, a medium relied 
on by Prof. Hare, many interesting facts are stated. 
Among others, the following: 

"While spending the evening of Jan. 21, 1854, at 
the house of a friend, it was proposed by the lady and 
her husband that we form a circle. We had not been 
long seated at the table when three ladies, two of 
whom I had never seen, favored us with their com- 
pany, and took their seats at some distance from the 
circle. They had been seated in the room but two or 
three minutes when the following was given through 
the table : 

" 'My Dear Mother :— In love I meet you this even- 
ing. O mother ! why do you mourn my death ? I have 
just begun to live. Grieve not for me. I wish my hus- 
band to investigate Spiritualism. I will communicate 
to him. Why should you erect a monumental slab to 
mv memory ? Let me live in the hearts of my friends! 

'SARAH NORTH.' " 

"When the gentleman who took down the com- 
munication read it, I was surprised at hearing the 
name, 'North,' that being my maiden name. As there 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 61 

was no Sarah in our family, I asked the spirit, ' Who 
is Sarah North ? ' Before it had time to reply, one of 
the ladies referred to approached the table in tears. 
She said, 'That is from my daughter Sarah. I have 
been engaged to-day in the solemn duty of erecting a 
tombstone to her memory.' " 

Professors Hare and Crookes.— The moving of 
physical objects by an intelligent force, which identi- 
fies itself, is an absolute test. Professor Hare, in his 
careful and extended experiments, recognized the 
value of such manifestations, and invented an ap- 
paratus which rendered deception impossible. His 
experiments were instituted with great care and 
scientific accuracy. Of the several contrivances em- 
ployed only two need be mentioned here. The first 
isolated the medium by mounting a small board on 
balls, resting on the top of the table. The medium's 
hand resting on the top of the board, of course at the 
slightest movement the balls would roll. Valuable 
communications were received by the movements of 
tables thus situated. The second apparatus was more 
ingeniously contrived. "A board is supported on a 
rod, so as to make it serve as a fulcrum, as in a see- 
saw, excepting that the fulcrum is at the distance of 
only one foot from the end, while it is three feet from 
the other. This end is supported by a spring balance, 
which indicates pounds and ounces by a rotary index. 
Upon this board, at about six inches from the fulcrum, 
is placed an inverted glass vase nine inches in diam- 
eter." Into this vase a wire cage or basket is let 
down so as to approach within an inch of the brim. 
The vase is filled with water. Now it is apparent that 
any pressure on the board will be indicated by the 
balance ; but the medium's hands placed in the water 
cannot give that pressure, as the cage effectually cuts 
them off from contact with the vase. If manifesta- 
tions are obtained in this manner, they cannot be re- 
ferred to human agency. Yet Professor Hare ob- 
tained not only movements of the balance, but com- 
munications, in presence of his scientific friends. The 
balance indicated a pressure of eighteen pounds, and 
" would probably have been depressed much more, 
but that the water would have been spilled by any 
further inclination of the vase," 



62 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Professor Crookes reviewed the grounds traversed 
by Professor Hare, and greatly extended the field and 
strengthened the results. He began a sceptic, or, 
rather, held his opinions in abeyance until certain 
evidence was produced, a position everyone should 
maintain. His thorough training in experimental 
electricity, light, and chemistry, enabled him to make 
his tests delicate and crucial. Plis earlyframed hypoth- 
esis of "psychic force," gave way, as he proceeded,, 
to that of independent and superior intelligence. His 
"Researches" form one of the most perfect demon- 
strations in the literature of Spiritualism. Dr. A. R. 
Wallace, who shares with Darwin the honors of first 
presenting the doctrine of Evolution, has given time 
and thought to this subject, and his "Defence" re- 
minds one of the works of the early fathers in support 
of the Christian faith against the Pagan world. It is 
the bold utterance of assured knowledge. The re- 
searches of the committee of the Dialectical Society 
form a mass of evidence found in no other volume, 
and almost cover the entire field of Spiritualism. 

The Evidence of Psychometry.— Since the applica- 
tion of the impressibility of mind to the delineation 
of character, by placing an autograph letter or ar- 
ticle belonging to the person in the hand or on the 
forehead of a sensitive, psychometry has become of 
increasing interest. It is an allowable inference that 
if the character of the writer can be thus read, if the 
writing of a spirit through a medium be genuine, the 
sensitive ought to be able to gain from it the charac- 
ter of the spirit instead of the medium. Dr. J. R. 
Buchanan first suggested this test, and proved that 
spirit writing gave such results, thus demonstrating 
the spirit origin. It also furnishes a test for the truth- 
fulness of the medium ; for if the writing is the me- 
dium 's unassisted effort, it would psychometrically 
give his character; while if the spirit writes it would 
give the character of the spirit-author. This is an 
ever applicable test of spirit identity. Even messages 
received by impression may be used. Their influence 
is more mixed, partaking of the character of the me- 
dium in some measure, yet always revealing their 
spirit origin. 

What Good?— We might as well ask, "What is the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 63 

good of stars shining, or the rising of the sun ? What 
is the use of existence I ' ' We accept life as a fact, nor 
can we answer wherefore. The world exists, and man 
exists ; but why or wherefore ? Whether Spiritualism 
is moral or immoral in its tendencies; whether we 
understand its uses or not, are not the issues. Is it not 
good for us to know that our loved ones exist on the 
other side of the grave ; to have all doubts and mis- 
givings swept away by their sweet voices speaking to 
us of the infinite future? Prostrated though we are 
at the side of the remorseless grave, through our 
blinding tears and the night of our sorrow, we see the 
loved formed of our departed angels ; and their words 
of cheer sound sweetly over the black waves of our 
grief. Cui bono ? The value of all we possess, though 
it were the oceaned world, would be freely given for 
a single word from the angel-side. 

Personal Experience.— Aggie, a sister adopted in 
our family circle as our child, _and, under our care, 
matured into the possibilities of the brightest destiny, 
went from us a perfect representation of health. We 
answered the telegram that said she could not live, 
too late. Even the poor consolation of a parting word 
was denied us. Her beautiful features still showed 
marks of terrible pain, — that was all. She was frozen 
to marble. 

I had thought that the spiritual philosophy would 
sustain one in this trial ; that, knowing the spirit ex- 
isted, the keen edge of our grief would be taken off. 
For this time, this was not so. We are accustomed to 
form our judgments by the senses. 

As we stand before the corpse of our departed, our 
grief overwhelms our intuitions, and darkens our 
spiritual perceptions. When we cry in our agony, the 
waves of feeling deafen our ears to the sound of spirit- 
voices. Our eyes meet the wreck of the beautiful 
inanimate, still, cold dead, and, with the heartlessness 
of our materiality, tell us there is nothing beyond. 
Soon will the elements claim their own; and a few 
years shall dissolve the being which for a time cheered 
us by her winning ways, and scatter her ashes to the 
winds. 

Thus Materialism, stifling, dark, and terrible, took 
the place of Spiritualism, and spiritual perception 



64 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

was too benumbed to feel. The days came and went, 
slowly our minds assumed their normal state, and the 
desire to communicate with the departed remained 
unanswered. 

Then began the most satisfying series of communi- 
cations. There could be no collusion, for Mrs. Tuttle 
and I sat alone at a small table. We had a spirit in 
the shadows, in unison with ourselves, and the gate- 
way of communication was opened wide. 

I had seen her the day before her funeral, clairvoy- 
antly, dimly, and she was sad and unable to speak. 
Her mother was with her,, and to my thought question 
the latter had answered : ' ' I would not have my child 
see it ; we go away, not to return until ali is over. ' ' 

We held a seance nearly every evening; and she 
was always present, and gave us some word of assur- 
ance. Sometimes she failed to answer correctly, the 
table being uncontrollable. At other times all her 
answers were perfectly correct for an hour's ques- 
tioning. We soon learned to discriminate; and, so 
far from supposing that undeveloped spirits came at 
those disturbed seances, we knew the fault lay in our 
organizations. The details of these seances are very 
interesting to us, but not to the public. T shall relate 
but one incident, as it illustrates the spirit's power 
of prophecy. 

She informed us that her father, who was slightly 
ill, could not recover. This was against our reason, 
for his sickness was not considered serious. Two 
weeks afterwards she fixed the day of his death at 
nearly three months ahead. About two weeks pre- 
vious to the time she had fixed for that event she 
came, and, by the tedious process of spelling by the 
alphabet, gave the following communication to her 
sister : 

"Emma, prepare to go to Braceville. Father has 
dictated a letter to-day, wishing you to come. He is 
not yet ready to die ; but, if you do not go, you will 
not have an opportunity to enjoy his society on earth 
again. The letter will reach you on Thursday; and 
on Friday you must go. " 

The letter came, and the spirit-voice was obeyed; 
and if conferring happiness on those who are dear, 
during the last days of their mortal life, be a life-long 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 65 

comfort to us, we are thankful for that thoughtful 
admonition. 

Her father lived twelve hours past the time she had 
appointed; but, at the very time he sank away, so 
completely that all thought he had breathed his last, 
he recovered, and exclaimed : 

"What a beautiful scene! I saw " 

He could not complete the sentence. He struggled 
through the night; and just as the sun arose in the 
east, and the birds awoke the earth with song, his 
spirit awoke to the recognition of angels. 

I often asked her to go to the "Banner" circle- 
room, and communicate; but she said that she could 
not approach on account of the number of strange 
spirits congregated there. She said that she could 
do so, however, if I went with her. 

At length the opportunity offered. I met Mrs. 
Conant several times ; but I did not urge a seance. ""I 
too well understand the laws of spirit-communication 
to think satisfactory results can be commanded; they 
must flow voluntarily. I almost became assured not 
to expect anything through Mrs. Conant; but one 
evening, as we were engaged in conversation, she sud- 
denly became entranced. Her manner, her tears, 
identified the controlling spirit. Aggie, in broken ac- 
cents, said that this first direct contact with earth 
completely overpowered her; and she could only say 
how much she loved us all, how sad our grief made 
her, and that we must not mourn for her any more. 

To a sceptic there was furnished no test; but that 
was to come. She remarked that she had found a 
medium through whom she could write all she de- 
sired, and I must meet her at Miss S 's at eleven 

o'clock the next day. 

I met the engagement punctually. I had never 
seen the medium before, and did not give her my 
name. I simply told her I had called for a seance. 
We sat down on opposite sides of a table; and she 
told me I could write whatever questions I desired, 
and, after folding the paper tightly, lay it on the 
table. I wrote, "Will the spirit who made this en- 
gagement write her name?" 

I rolled the paper closely, and laid it on the table. 
Immediately the medium wrote, "Maggie." This was 



ee THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

written, as is all she writes, reversed ; so that it must 
be held before a mirror to be read. I wrote, ' ' That is 
wrong." Instantly the medium's hand was again in- 
fluenced; and the "M" was stricken off, leaving the 
name correctly spelled — "Aggie." Then I wrote, "I 
do not want to ask questions; write whatever you 
please." 

To this, the following was the reply; and, consider- 
ing that to the medium I was a total stranger, the 
accuracy with which the names were grven is aston- 
ishing. Aggie's guitar had been left at a friend's, 
and had not been touched by anyone, remaining ex- 
actly as she left it, leaning against the wall. She 
alludes to it, as well as to the favorite horse "Bill ;" 
and both allusions are tests of identity. 

"Dear Hudson and Emma: — I am with you, as I 
promised last evening; but I cannot control this me- 
dium as readily as I supposed I should be able to. 
But I shall improve, and shall be able to control your- 
self so perfectly that you will be compelled to ac- 
knowledge my presence. I have the same affection 
for you as while on earth. I shall never change. I 
am with you, in spirit, always, and hope to control 
Emma so perfectly that I can fulfil my imperfectly 
performed mission on earth. I am very happy; do 
not grieve for me. 

"Dear Emma! dear Emma! I am very near you. 
How I want to give you proof of my identity ! 

"Bring my guitar home, and lay it on the table; 
perhaps I can play on it. 

"Do you remember I loved to see Emma ride? but 
I was afraid of 'Bill.' 

"'Dear little Rosa and Carl! you miss me, don't 
you? But I am still with you, and will lead you to 
truth and right, if you will be patient and unwaver- 
ing. ' ' 

I received other answers equally correct, but of too 
personal a character to insert here. There was no 
failure. Every question written and rolled into a 
ball, and placed on the table, was answered in less 
time than I have occupied in writing this. But here 
let me insert a word of caution, for I would not con- 
vey the impression that such is invariably the result; 



mm ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 6? 

for the next day I called for a seance, and did not re- 
ceive a single answer to my written questions. 

By our daily converse with this beloved spirit are 
we strengthened in our knowledge of spirit-life. We 
know that she exists as a bright immortal in the spirit 
land; and daily our prayer, carved in the marble 
headstone over her grave, ascends : 

"Wait, darling, wait! 

You have reached the heavenly strand ; 
But those you love are toiling up 

To the heights of a better land. 

"Oh, pause by the shining gates of pearl, 

Look down the narrow way; 
And guide us by your angel-hand, 

Into a perfect day." 

A Lesson in Spirit Communion.— Once when sitting 
for table-movings, and receiving messages by the re- 
sponses given to the calling of the alphabet, the sitter 
asked the intelligence to spell the name of his father, 
Avho purported to be communicating. The table read- 
ily moved twice for assent, and when the alphabet was 
repeated rapped "J-o-n," and for the middle initial 
gave "R." 

"Ha! ha!" laughed the investigator, derisively, 
"my father has forgotten how to spell his name. He 
has grown too imbecile to insert his h's, and his initial 
was P, not *R. ' It is a clear case of fraud!" 

"You cannot accuse me of fraud," I replied, "for 
I quite well know how to spell John, and should not 
have dropped out the 'h.' " 

"I do not care to investigate further. I am fully 
satisfied that the matter is beneath attention," was 
the response. 

This is one of many similar instances in my own 
experience, and paralleled in that of every medium. 

I attended a large circle, and a sitter received a 
lengthy communication from the spirit of his mother. 
He was affected even to tears. He asked questions, 
and the responses were satisfactory. At length he 
said : ' ' For a test, tell me how many children you 
have?" The response was, "Three." He sprang ex- 
citedly to his feet, rudely exclaiming: "That is a 
falsehood! my mother had but two, and she ought to 



68 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

know ! You do not suppose for a moment I am such 
an idiot as to believe this is my mother ? I am not so 
readily duped." 

The inharmony resulting prevented further com- 
munication, and they only who have experienced it 
can know the shock given to the medium. 

I was recently amused at the effect a single inac- 
curacy had on a young lady, who had for a long time 
been receiving communications by means of the psy- 
chograph. Whenever she placed her hands on the in- 
strument it would respond, and a spirit, giving the 
name "Pauline," seemed always present and ready 
to counsel her. I cautioned her not to place too great 
reliance on the words of the guardian, for it was not 
designed that we forsake our reason for the guidance 
of anyone, however exalted. She admitted the cor- 
rectness of my advice and attempted to follow it, but 
constantly resorted to the spirit intelligence, which 
manifested deep interest in her welfare, and constant- 
ly gave her wisest counsel. It is not designed for 
spiritual beings to assume control of our earthly af- 
fairs. It is proper to consult them on the spiritual 
plane, and there may be sufficient reasons at times for 
them to interfere in the business of this life, but it 
would not be well for us to rely on them instead of 
ourselves in material affairs. 

At length, when her confidence in "Pauline" was 
almost implicit, she inquired about a certain business 
transaction which deeply affected her, and was as- 
sured by "Pauline" that it would be arranged as she 
expected and desired. The next day brought .a letter 
saying that this business scheme had been abandoned. 
The young lady lost. confidence in her guide, and even 
refused to receive communications, declaring that 
they were entirely untrustworthy. 

The inaccuracies and contradictions of the com- 
munications had been a subject of discussion from the 
beginning, and have been hastily referred to evil 
spirits, or accepted as evidence against their spiritual 
origin. For the old superstition that a spiritual being 
must be infallible lingered, and hence imperfection in 
communications was regarded as evidence that they 
were not of spiritual origin. 

The difficulties which have to be overcome in com- 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 69 

municating were not considered or even understood, 
and to all mistakes and inaccuracies the ready ex- 
planation was evil spirits and fraud. 

This subject was forcibly brought to my mind by 
the reception of two telephone messages. The first 
read: "Can you attend a funeral here to-morow?" 
and was signed G. W. Richard. The name proved to 
be J. W. Reichard. The telegraphic dispatch had been 
changed in passing through the telephone. I might 
have followed the reasoning of the " investigators, " 
and said, "Does not Mr. Reichard know how to spell 
his own name ? If he does not, is it not unimpeacha- 
ble evidence that he does not exist?" I answered the 
message, but when I came to the house of Mr. G. M. 
Richard I found he did not exist. There was Mr. 
Reichard in his stead. A day or two thereafter I re- 
ceived this message, dated at Cleveland : ' ' Can you 
attend funeral here on Friday next? (Signed) J. M. 
Colt." 

I replied, but soon received answer that no such 
person as J. M. Colt could be found, and after several 
hours the message came that J. M. Tolt was the man's 
name, and the message had been delivered. As no 
street or number had been given, I said to myself, 
whoever this stranger may be, he is so well known 
that he thinks it unnecessary to mention his street. 
On arriving in Cleveland I was unable to find even the 
name "Tolt" in the directory, and after nearly two 
hours' inquiry found that J. M. Tolt was I. W. Pope, 
the conductor of the Lyceum, a zealous Spiritualist, 
an enterprising manufacturer, and an intimate friend. 
Did I at once go into a rage and accuse him of lying to 
me, or of being an imbecile, and not knowing how to 
spell his own name ? Rather we had a hearty laugh 
over the blunder, and congratulated ourselves that it 
had all come out well. Nor did we say there is no 
such thing as a telephone or telegraph, or that these 
were frauds. 

If investigators would hold in mind that the condi- 
tions and essentials for correct communication are far 
more delicate than those for the transmission of an 
electric current, and far less understood, they would 
not rashly jump to conclusions which a moment's 
thought would show them to be unwarrantable. 



70 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Contradictory Spirit Communications.— The contra- 
dictions which every investigator meets with in the 
communications purporting to come from spirits, and 
which too frequently appear in articles and books on 
that subject, have been the fruitful source of cavil and 
scepticism. If the doctrines taught by the spirits 
themselves are accepted, that the future life is a con- 
tinuity of this, without change in personality or 
mental capacity, the discordance in the communica- 
tions received will, instead of reflecting doubt, be evi- 
dence of their reality. There is a lingering supersti- 
tion, even in the minds of the best informed, that in- 
spiration from a spiritual source must be infallible. 
However strongly the profession is made that spirits 
have not cast aside with the physical body the im- 
perfections of their earth-character, and have not 
gained a vast knowledge which they did not possess 
while here, when they communicate, their imperfec- 
tions are forgotten, the difficulties of correctly im- 
pressing their thoughts overlooked, and their com- 
munications are received in an entirely different man- 
ner from what they would be if derived from any 
other source. 

The Bible has been relied upon as an authority un- 
til such reliance has become hereditary, and when it 
ceases to be taken as an infallible guide, the mind 
turns to some other support. It is hard to stand alone, 
and have no staff for support, no final court of appeal 
when vexed questions arise. 

It is said: "I like the philosophy of Spiritualism; 
it is reasonable, but when I find plain, palpable con- 
tradictions between authors of good standing, I am 
discouraged and disgusted." 

In the early days of Spiritualism such discrepancies 
were seized by opposers, and effectually wielded in 
combating its claims. Judge Edmonds gave implicit 
confidence to all the communications he received, and 
his published narrative of a dairy in the spirit-land, 
with a description of the utensils employed, even to 
the tin pans placed in the sun to dry, was the source 
of endless ridicule and of chagrin to those who wished 
to see the cause honored and respected. Dr. Eugene 
Crowell, in communications published, even exceeded 
Judge Edmonds in materializing the spirit-world* 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 71 

There is another apparently Irreconcilable contradic- 
tion between the messages, teaching that the spirit 
has its origin with the body, and the Kardec school 
which claims pre-existence and re-incarnation. The 
last may be surmounted by supposing re-incarnation 
a dream indulged in by spirits, as philosophers specu- 
late here, or what is probably nearer the truth, that 
it is a remnant of the lingering belief of an earlier age. 
The history of Karclec's efforts is quite sufficient to 
cast discredit over his system. Before judgment is 
pronounced or "disgust' manifested, the authenticity 
of the communications and the authority of their 
spirit authors should be carefully examined. The 
simple fact of spirit authorship should have no 
weight, as some spirits may know less than mortals; 
nor does the character of those who receive and pub- 
lish such communications give them authority. 
Even when the communicating spirit is reliable, and 
the conditions of communication are of the best, im- 
plicit reliance as on an infallible oracle must not be 
given. 

After eliminating all these disturbing elements, 
there is one dominant over all which applies to every 
communication descriptive of the after life; it has 
been felt by the seers of all past ages, and as each 
has striven to overcome the difficulties in his own 
way, there has been divergence as wide as the person- 
alities of the narrators. St. Paul said of what he saw, 
that it was unlawful for him to utter, and the Revela- 
tor, filled to overflowing with the sights he saw in vis- 
ions, attempted by allegories and symbols to make 
them intelligible, and only succeeded in bewildering 
those who attempt to understand him. 

Words represent or convey ideas for which they 
stand. They can convey no meaning except that 
which experience has given them. When a stream of 
water, with shady banks and rocky bed, is described, 
we at once have the image brought to our minds by 
the words. If we lived in the North, and had never 
seen a tropical stream, the cold grey rocks and stinted 
shrubs, with leaden sky, would form that image. If 
we dwelt in the tropics, the luxuriance of vegetation, 
the dark, sluggish waters, the opal sky, would make 
up the picture. The same words would thus awaken 



72 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

widely differing conceptions. If we had always dwelt 
in the North we could not form a correct conception 
of the tropical stream. 

If a butterfly, endowed with the gift of speech, re- 
turned to a group of its parent caterpillars, feeding 
on the coarse herbage, and attempted to tell them of 
its new found flowery pastures, where all the day long 
it was blown by zephyrs from flower to flower, sip- 
ping nectar from fragrant chalices, how little could 
its hearers comprehend, and how completely would 
they misunderstand. The butterflies' world to them 
is unknown, and the few words at their command ap- 
ply only to the rank leaves and their sensations of 
hunger. They have no words for things they never 
saw and sensations they never experienced. In a 
more absolute and complete sense, this is true of a 
spirit when it attempts to describe its life and sur- 
roundings in the Spirit-world. Mortal eye hath not 
seen those beauties. There is not one single word in 
any language applicable to those conditions. True, a 
correspondence most perfect exists between the mor- 
tal and spiritual world, and yet they are as unlike as 
two essentially different states can be. 

When, therefore, spirits attempt to describe the 
sphere which environs them, they must employ words 
in a new sense, and yet their language is sure to be 
taken literally, and hence conveys the wildest mis- 
conception. Their descriptions are and must be in 
terms understandable by mortals; sometimes direct, 
at others allegorical. The mortal life is regarded by 
them as a part of the Spirit-world, being the first 
stage of existence, and those visions, trances, and com- 
munications which take the grossness of material 
forms do not rise above it. Judge Edmonds, taking 
for granted that everything seen by spiritual sight 
must be spiritual, did not recognize that he was amid 
earthly scenes. A spirit might say that he did not eat 
or drink; another that he did, and both be truthful, 
for while it is not supposable that gross appetites have 
to be appeased, it must be conceded that the spiritual 
being derives sustenance in some manner, perhaps 
not comprehensible to mortals. 



CHAPTER III. 

MATTER AND FORCE: THEIR RELATIONS 

TO SPIRIT. 



Position of the Agnostic and Scientist as Investiga- 
tors of Spiritualism. 

Agnostics and Scientists as Investigators of Spiritualism — 
Spirit and Force — The Old Problem — The Atom — The 
Chemical Atom — All the Elements Primarily One — Prog- 
ress — Force — Motion — Resolvability of Motion — Light and 
Chemical Affinity — Theories — The Sun the Fountain of 
Life — Into the Realm of Life — Use of the Nerves — Correla- 
tion of Mind — Perfection of Man. 

A pleasing delusion has prevailed that when the 
trained scientist came to investigate Spiritualism the 
sphinx would speak, the riddle be solved, and no 
more questioning be possible. But the trained sci- 
entist is "trained" for other special departments. He 
has spent his best years in counting the markings of 
an infusoria ; the scales on a butterfly's wing ; gather- 
ing beetles into a cabinet, or making a collection of 
birds' eggs, and outside of his specialty he knows lit- 
tle or nothing. He has confined himself so completely 
to matter, to the machine, that spirit has escaped 
him, and the mention of it calls forth a smile of scorn. 

The scientists have been educated away from the 
Spiritual, and if they approach it, it is with the in- 
tense prejudice, which forestalls correct judgment. 
As conspicuous examples of incompetency the Psy- 
chological Societies, English and American, may be 
cited. They were organized, and with sounding 
trumpets began their work. The English Society has 
issued several volumes of reports, not quite as valu- 



74 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

able as the paper wasted in printing them, and the 
American Society is following the same path. From 
the beginning the committees have shown how not to 
do it. For instance, one of the best committees was 
assigned the mighty task of determining how an iron 
ring came on the wrist of a medium. The members 
were not of the ordinary stripe. Ordinary, common- 
place men would have taken the hand of the medium 
and determined whether the ring could be taken off 
without violent compression of the hand. If it could 
not be, then they would have said that it could not 
be taken off in that way. Not so these experts, they 
were extraordinary men, and employed extraordinary 
methods. They measured the ring with tape; they 
measured it outside and in with copper wire. They 
measured the wrist; they measured the fingers and 
the hand ; they studied its anatomy ; they measured 
it "troughed," which we suppose means doubled to- 
gether. This ought to have contented them, but they 
wished to see how anaesthetics would affect the size, 
and experimented on three persons placed under the 
influence of ether. The hands of these did not shrink ! 
They found as a final result that the ring was too 
small by half an inch to pass over the hand, and hence 
concluded that it had been slipped on by the medium. 
A conclusion in direct opposition to the facts. 

It* the phenomena are to be investigated, Spiritual- 
ists must depend on themselves, and the past shows 
that the investigation has been in good hands. 

The Agnostics are pardonable for a degree of pride, 
for the world has been cursed through the ages by 
those who claimed to know, when they were profound- 
ly ignorant; who claimed to see as by the sunlight 
when they saw only by the pale reflection of twilight. 
It is not because the Agnostic does not know and 
stands in his place and says he does not, that we can- 
not approve of his attitude, but because he so fre- 
quently declares his "don't know" with the em- 
phasis that assures us that if he does not know it can 
not be known, and that it is folly to waste time in en- 
deavoring to know. He who pronounces on the know- 
able and the unknowable must have infinite compre- 
hension, must know everything as God knows, and we 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 75 

are not ready to grant that any one has yet fathomed 
the infinite depths of creative power. 

Spirit and Force.— Professor Youman raid: "The 
study of matter resolves itself into the study of forces. 
. . . The conceptions of gross, 'corrupt,' 'brute 
matter' are passing away with the prejudices of the 
past, and in the place of a dead, material world we 
have a living organism of spiritual energies." 

The new theory of force has been triumphantly 
arrayed against the possibility of immortality, or a 
continuance of life after the death of the body. This 
makes it necessary to examine the theory as well as 
the history of science which led up to this grand gen- 
eralization. 

The science of the ancients, if they can be said to 
have possessed a science, was an evolution from the 
mind independent of facts. The Greeks were im- 
patient of the study of external phenomena. They set 
the intellect entirely above facts, and supposed that 
it was capable of working out a system of nature from 
itself. Aristotle, perhaps, departed from this method ; 
but it remained for modern science to establish itself 
on the firm basis of direct observation. In this con- 
sists the difference between the ancient and modern 
methods. One reasons from within outward; the 
other from the external to the internal. Locke 's sen- 
suous theory is scorned; but it is the sheet-anchor 
of science, and every one of its inductions presup- 
poses its truthfulness. Hence the inductive method 
has been accused of materialism; a charge certainly 
merited, and from which it cannot escape. Locke's 
method is correct, and the inductive method is cor- 
rect ; but neither have the whole and complete truth. 
Because we derive knowledge from the senses does 
not prove that all our knowledge is thus derived. Be- 
yond stands the unexplained and unexplainable I. 
Smelling, tasting, seeing, hearing, feeling, one or com- 
bined, never yield reason. Because we arrive at truth 
by the inductive method it does not follow that it is 
the only channel of truth. The mind capable of ob- 
serving phenomena should be able to deduce the laws 
of correlated facts. 

The comprehension of matter is through the study 
of its forces ; they are the bridge spanning the chasm 



76 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

between matter and spirit. Each day the existence 
of "gross matter" becomes more doubtful. It is 
asked : " Is an atom more than a center for the propa- 
gation of force?" When a stone is dropped into 
water, the surface is thrown into circling waves. Now 
it is an important question : "Is not an atom like the 
central portion of those waves — a vortex from which 
waves of force are constantly thrown?" Then fol- 
lows : "Has the atom a real existence? Is there any- 
thing but force ? ' ' We cannot divest ourselves of the 
idea of substance ; or from the testimony 01 the senses 
to the existence of matter — the body of the Universe 
to which force holds the relation of spirit. 

The Old Problem.— Philosophers from the earliest 
times have attempted the solution of the question: 
' * Is matter capable of infinite division, or can the ulti- 
mate atom be reached?" No argument or experi- 
ment can solve this problem; and from the idle con- 
jectures of Democritus and Leucippus, to the experi- 
mental researches of Wollaston and Faraday, there 
has been no advancement except in the form of the in- 
vestigation. Matter, space, time, and force, are the 
four elements which enter into the equation of the 
creation of the cosmos. In the beginning this must be 
accepted as the foundation on which all systems of 
creation must rest, and it is fruitless to attempt by 
scientific or metaphysical methods to penetrate fur- 
ther. 

Of matter, all investigations and conclusions are 
based on its stability. It changes form— becomes 
solid, liquid, or gaseous, but never diminishes in quan- 
tity. The candle burns, yielding light; it is de- 
stroyed as a candle, but its gaseous products are of 
equal weight. 

We cannot imagine either the creation or extinc- 
tion of matter. We contemplate Nature, not as hav- 
ing beginning or end, but as an infinite series, a few 
of whose members only are brought before us like an 
endless way, up and down, which we can travel, but 
never to either termination; and having no data, 
nothing positive, we cannot judge whether the path 
has or has not termination. So far as we know it has 
nott Here is an end to all speculation; and, until 
something more than the idle conceits of men are pro- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 77 

duced, we are obliged to rest content. Forms perish 
with appalling rapidity; death vieing with life, and 
resurrection triumphing again and again over the 
power of dissolution ; yet the atoms of which all these 
countless swarms of existences are formed remain un- 
changed. Compared with the fleeting existence of 
animated nature, or even with the duration of suns 
and worlds, which grow old and are absorbed, matter 
is eternal. 

All the phenomena presented by matter, appear to 
be resolvable into the forces of attraction and repul- 
sion. This is opposed to the received idea, that inertia 
is its characteristic. Matter is supposed to have no in- 
ternal force. If it is not acted upon from without it re- 
mains forever at rest. If it is possible for matter thus 
to remain, we never see it in such a condition. A post 
planted by the road-side is at rest compared with the 
objects around it ; but it is not really at rest ; for, not 
to mention the internal changes in its structure by 
which it is shortly reduced to dust, each day it makes 
the circuit of the globe, and yearly journeys around 
the sun. Does the globe move, and compel it to fol- 
low? What moves the globe? Ah! now we arrive at 
the end. Everything the globe contains, even to the 
hardest crystal, is fashioned into form by the incon- 
ceivably intense motion of its atoms, which are in 
constant vibration, and their combined force is the 
motion of the earth. 

The Atom.— To the microscope, the finest powder 
to which a substance can be reduced presents all the 
aspects of the entire body. Gold may be hammered 
so thin that one grain will cover fourteen hundred 
square inches. A microscope can detect the gold on 
the thousandth part of a linear inch ; so that gold may 
at least be divided into particles one billionth of a 
square inch in size, and still retain its character. Col- 
oring substances, such as indigo, show an almost in- 
comprehensible divisibility. A single drop of strong 
indigo in solution can be shown to contain at least five 
hundred thousand distinctly visible portions, and will 
color a thousand cubic inches of water. As this mass 
of water is at least five hundred thousand times larger 
than the drop, it is certain that the narticle of indigo 
must be smaller than the twenty-five hundred billionth 



78 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

part of an inch. Yet even such attenuated solutions 
are exceeded by the complex beings revealed by the 
microscope ; scarcely larger than the particles of dis- 
solved indigo, living, moving, having organs of pre- 
hension, digestion, and assimilation, and a circulating 
fluid with globules of the same comparative size as 
those of larger animals. 

The Chemical Atom.— The chemical atom may be 
regarded as formed by a group of smaller particles; 
and the number uniting to form a group is what is 
called the combining number; but this is conjectural. 
There then remains but one theory, and that is the 
one advanced by Boscovitch, or some of the modifica- 
tions of which it is susceptible. We must confess that 
we know of force ; but, of matter, we know nothing. 
What we call matter — that which we see, feel, taste ; 
which manifests gravity, impenetrability, etc. — is not 
matter, but the forces which surround and conceal 
something beyond. This something lies beyond our 
ken ; and all we know of it we learn from its phenom- 
ena. It is difficult for the mind to grasp the idea of 
substance without atoms, and there is a necessity of 
employing the term; yet all we know of it may be 
expressed by a" center, radiating force. Whether that 
center is a mathematical point, or occupied by a de- 
terminate atom, we cannot ascertain ; though the lat- 
ter inference is most consonant with the finiteness 
of our minds. This point, this something, around 
which the forces of the universe cluster, and from 
which they radiate, is called an atom. It is unbeata- 
ble and indestructible. On this basis all positive 
science rests ; and, without it, its inferences would be 
wholly unreliable. It may change its form from solid 
to liquid, from liquid to gas; it may be apparently 
dissipated, as wood in a grate, as food in the animal 
body; but it always reappears. We thus learn that 
the forces which emanate from the atom are its essen- 
tials. We can know of it only by means of these 
forces. 

We never see, feel, hear, taste, nor touch matter; 
only its properties and its atmosphere affect us. All 
visible effects are produced by invisible causes. Co- 
hesion, which unites atoms into solid masses, or gravi- 
tation, chaining world to world, does not result from 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 79 

external pressure, but internal force. All the forces 
of nature act from within outward. The most ma- 
terialistic philosophers admit this; and in the study 
of nature, questions of force ' ' are becoming more a*ud 
more prominent. The things to be explained are 
changes, active effects, motions in ordinary matter, 
not as acted upon, but as in itself inherently active. 
The chief use of atoms is to serve as points, or vehicles 
of motion. Thus the study of matter resolves itself 
into the study of forces. Inert objects, as they appear 
to the eye of sense, are replaced by activities revealed 
to the eye of intellect. The conceptions of 'gross,' 
'corrupt,' 'brute matter' are passing away with the 
prejudices of the past; and, in place of a dead, ma- 
terial world, we have a living organism of spiritual 
energies. ' ' 

This is the highest ground taken by scientists at 
present; and, while they congratulate themselves on 
their Positivism, they are really entering the vestibule 
of Spiritualism. 

When the mind is freed from the ideas of physical 
matter, created by the senses, and, with intellectual 
vision, understands that what it calls fixed and un- 
changeable are fleeting shadows of unseen spiritual 
energies, it is ready to comprehend how this force can 
be immortalized in specialized forms and spiritual be- 
ings. 

All the Elements Primarily One.— Of the simple ele- 
ments there is no assurance but that they may be yet 
reduced to one single elementary substance. Heat de- 
composes compound molecules into their primaries. 
Hence, if the degree of heat be sufficiently intense, 
there would be unexpected decompositions. In some 
of the stars a temperature exists unapproachable by 
any known means, and in them, according to spectrum 
analysis, only hydrogen exists, an element which 
seems related in a peculiar manner to the others, for 
their atomic weight is a multiple of its half. 

Progress.— This tendency is observable in all de- 
partments of science, but more particularly in as- 
tronomy. From the cumbersome crystalline spheres 
of Eudoxus to the epicycles of a later date; from 
these to the subtle vortices of an electrical medium 
wafting the planets on their swift currents, as set 



80 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

forth by Descartes, — lengthy steps were taken; but 
from the latter the domain of force was at once re- 
vealed by Newton in his incomparable doctrine of 
gravitation. 

In the same manner, at the close of the last century, 
chemistry made a great advance by the discovery of 
the indestructibility of matter. The intellect, be- 
fogged by educational prejudice, could never have ar- 
rived at this fact, except by mechanical means. The 
balance of Lavoisier was more penetrating than the 
minds of the most astute philosophers. His balance 
proved that matter, however changeable in form, in 
weight is unchangeable. The invisible gas pressed 
downward as much as the heavy, black coal from 
which it escaped. The escaping smoke was as heavy 
as the burned wood. Matter might be converted from 
a solid to a fluid or a gas, or from a gas to a solid ; but 
nothing is lost by the protean metamorphosis. 

Space. — Space is the abyss in which the universe 
is suspended, it is immeasurable, and without dimen- 
sions. Any idea or conception of dimensional space 
must come from the dimensions of matter suspended 
therein, it can have neither center nor circumfer- 
ence, and if the stellar system should move as a whole, 
with planetary velocity, for any length of time, it 
would not change its position therein ; for finite space 
has no ratio to the infinite. 

We are beings of three dimensional matter, and our 
ideas of space conform thereto. We have length, 
breadth, and thickness. If we could imagine a being 
with only length and breadth, or a two dimensional 
being, such a being would, as having no thickness, be 
only a mathematical abstraction — nothing. 

As a theory it has been advanced that there are 
four dimensions, and as a pleasing exercise of intel- 
lectual gymnastics it is of interest, however inconceiv- 
able to three dimensional beings like ourselves. A 
four dimensional space is equivalent to a four dimen- 
sional being, and such a being to us is inconceivable. 
It would have length, breadth, and thickness, — what 
then would remain to be defined and included in a 
fourth dimension ? 

Force. — Force is never lost. There is just so much 
in the universe, and none is destroyed. In whatever 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM 81 

form it appears, of light, heat, electricity, or magnet- 
ism, it is ever under the control of laws. Whenever 
one form of force disappears it reappears in some 
other. Yet the term "force" gives no explanation; 
it is used in the sense of a power to produce an effect ; 
of the cause of an individual phenomenon we are ig- 
norant. 

If a piece of caoutchouc be stretched by an applica- 
tion of weights, it will yield in proportion to the 
weight applied, and when the weight is removed it 
will recoil with exactly the amount of force which 
was applied. This power is held by each of its com- 
ponent particles, and is a striking illustration of the 
conservation of force. The term may be objection- 
able, but is less so than others, and expressive of the 
meaning implied. Force is indestructible and uncre- 
atable. A spring pressed downwards by a weight of a 
hundred pounds will recoil with the force of a hun- 
dred pounds when the weight is removed. The pen- 
Muluin of a clock continues to swing until the original 
power used in winding up the weight becomes ex- 
hausted, and not a moment longer. If a thousand 
oscillations equal a power of an ounce, then an ounce 
is subtracted from the original force which was ap- 
plied by that number of movements. This is a car- 
dinal principle, equally important with the eternity of 
matter, and should be thoroughly understood. To 
turn a wheel the water must fall; every pound of 
power gained by the wheel the water must lose. The 
stroke of the wheel consumes a definite quantity of 
steam. The labor of man consumes muscular power. 

Motion.— The first idea of force is motion. The 
gross idea of motion is change of matter in space. The 
more subtile conception fades into vibrations of mat- 
ter without any relative change. Thus we have a 
glimpse of an impalpable something transmitted, 
which operates powerfully, but changes not the sub- 
stance in its path. Thus sound is motion ; it is noth- 
ing but motion. If the ear be placed at one end of a 
long metallic rod : and the other end be struck, it 
shortly receives an impression of sound conducted 
through the rod. The rod has not moved ; it has only 
allowed something to pass through it. That some- 



82 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

thing is vibration, capable of exciting the auditory 
nerves producing hearing. Motion only has passed. 

Resolvability of Motion.— Motion is resolvable into 
heat, light, magnetism, electricity, and what may be 
called, for want of a better name, spiritual power. 
The production of heat by motion is among the most 
common occurrences. Wherever there is friction be- 
tween moving surfaces, heat is produced. In ma- 
chinery oil is applied to all the irregularities of the 
surfaces, so that they may slide freely over each 
other. In heavy machinery there is great difficulty in 
preventing the rapidly revolving parts from burning. 
Car axles often take fire from this cause. By rough- 
ening the surfaces, greater friction is produced, more 
heat, and consequent loss of power. What becomes 
of this lost power ? Is it annihilated ? No. The pre- 
cise amount of power absorbed by friction is repro- 
duced as heat. Friction results from the tearing asun- 
der of the inequalities of the opposing surfaces; and 
the force necessary to tear these asunder is equival- 
ent to the heat produced. In other words, if this heat* 
was applied to convert water to steam, the steam 
would tear off precisely as many particles. Of course 
no allowance is here made for waste. 

The equivalent of one degree Fahrenheit, expressed 
in motion, has been approximately determined by Mr. 
Joule as seven hundred and seventy-two pounds, fall- 
ing one foot. Other experimenters have arrived at 
widely different results; but his computations are 
made with so much care and nicety that they are gen- 
erally received. 

Light and Chemical Affinity.— Light, heat, electric- 
ity, magnetism, and affinity are mutually convertible. 
Thus by means of an electrical current, decomposi- 
tion can be effected, and by means of affinity the circle 
is completed by the production of motion. All the 
sensible phenomena of light, heat, electricity and 
affinity are motions of atoms, and all that is required 
is their proper direction to produce motion of masses. 

Theories. — It is indifferent what theory is advo- 
cated, — the theory of vibrations in an ether, or of 
matter itself, or of emission; this inter-relation or co- 
relation holds good of one as well as the other. The 
phenomena are most satisfactorily explained by the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 83 

theory of vibrations in an ether, modified by trans- 
mission through ponderable bodies. The action of 
gravitation across planetary spaces, which are prac- 
tically devoid of matter, necessitates the existence of 
a medium for its transmission. 

The resolution of the "imponderable" into motion 
solves some of the greatest cosmical problems. Mo- 
tion being indestructible, the revolution of worlds 
falls into its province. The original heat which once 
diffused the planetary bodies as vapor through space 
calls for no other explanation than that furnished by 
the conservation of force. 

When the exact numerical relation of heat and mo- 
tion is determined, the calculation is very simple to 
ascertain how much heat the velocity of a planetary 
body represents. The moment the particles of cos- 
mical vapor met and united, — in other words, con- 
densation began, — heat was generated. It was the 
great obstacle in the way of condensation. From 
the amount of heat represented by the present motion 
of the earth, the degree of heat of the original chaos 
can be determined. It is found that only the four 
hundred and fifty-fourth of the original force re- 
mains; but if this remainder were converted into 
heat, as it would be if the planets were all to fall into 
the sun, and the whole system suddenly be brought to 
rest, it would raise the temperature of the entire mass 
to twenty-eight million degrees centigrade, or fifty 
million degrees Fahrenheit. When we consider that 
the highest temperature we are capable of attaining 
is by the oxyhydrogen blow-pipe, and that this does 
not exceed three thousand six hundred degrees 
Fahrenheit, but is sufficient to not only melt but va- 
porize platinum, the most infusible of metals, we can 
at once Jearn the incomprehensibleness of fifty mill- 
ion degrees, or more than thirteen thousand times that 
number. If the entire mass of the system were pure 
coal, and at once lit up in terrific combustion, only the 
thirty-five hundredth part of this heat would be gen- 
erated. 

A simple calculation affords us a view of the result 
if the earth were suddenly stopped in its orbit. The 
momentum of a ponderous ball, eight thousand miles 
in diameter, hurled sixty-eight thousand miles an 
hour, is at once converted into heat. A rifle-ball ar- 



84 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

rested becomes too warm to touch. The earth is raised 
to sixteen thousand five hundred and sixty degrees 
Fahrenheit, a temperature sufficient to convert its 
most obdurate minerals into vapour, into a vast come- 
tary chaos. If arrested, it would fall into the sun ; and 
the degree of heat developed by such a catastrophe 
would be four hundred times greater, or six million 
six hundred and twenty-four thousand degrees Fah- 
renheit. 

The Sun the Fountain of Life.— The heat of the 
sun's surface— the great perpetual fountain of life — 
has been estimated, from what appear to be correct 
data, to be from seven thousand to fifteen thousand 
times greater than the oxyhydrogen blow-pipe. This 
incomprehensible temperature is maintained invari- 
ably, and an immense flood of light and heat radiated 
into space. Meeting the surface of the planets, it 
warms, enlightens, and sets at work the processes of 
life. It is the origin of living beings, who derive from 
its exhilarating rays all their motion or living force, 
which stands directly correlated to sunlight and heat. 

We are all children of the sun, from the humblest 
worm to the divinest man. All are storehouses of 
these forces, which can be at any time called forth. 
When wood is burned it is not newly created heat we 
produce, but the light and warmth of the sun exerted 
in building up the cells of the wood. 

A diamond shines in the dark, after exposure to the 
sun's rays, from the absorption of those rays. 

When the shining coal is burned, the sunlight and 
heat treasured up by the plants in the dark age of 
mythically gigantic vegetation, which flourished in 
the marshes of the coal-age, are set at liberty. Noth- 
ing is created. The coal is simply a treasury of the 
heat and light of the sun. Beautiful is the circle of 
transformation. The heat of the sun builds up the 
plant. It is a storehouse of these forces to the ani- 
mal that eats and digests it. The original heat is lib- 
erated by chemical action in its body, which is thus 
warmed and endowed with wonderful muscular 
power. The same chemical processes occur when 
wood is burned in the furnace of an engine. The 
treasured heat is reconverted to the original motion 
of the beginning. Thus the force of the animal frame 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 85 

is an individualization of the primal force of planet- 
ary bodies. 

Into the Realm of Life.— Ascending in this generali- 
zation, we inquire if this correlation holds in the realm 
of life; if the aggregate of motions we call life may 
not be a transformation of the terrible forces of na- 
ture. Wonderful are the motions of living beings; 
so mysterious, they seem to spring directly from the 
will, and once were supposed to be connected with a 
forbidden domain, lying outside of matter. But care- 
ful study finds that the circulation of the fluids in the 
animal, and the motions of its organs, differ not from 
the motion observed in the cascade, the rush of winds, 
or the revolutions of the orbs of space. Vegetable life 
is purely of growth ; animal life expands itself in re- 
sistance to external agencies. The animal has a nerv- 
ous system, which the plant has not, by which its 
various parts are brought into unison. In both is 
observed what has been called vital force. 

What is this vital force? Consider an organized 
being, It is a representative of all the forces and con- 
ditions which have ever acted on it, or on its remotest 
ancestors. It is the concrete expression of all these. 
In it, these forces have acquired a momentum. They 
are not wholly dependent on external circumstances, 
but are able to react on surrounding conditions. The 
sum of forces thus individualized, the momentum of 
force thus represented, is what is called vitality. 
Whatever power a being gains from its food or other- 
wise, not expended, is so much gained by vitality. 

It is not an original force imported from ancestors, 
which weakens as it departs from the parent stock, 
as has been argued. This is refuted by the propaga- 
tion of plants by cuttings, or the embryonic growth of 
animals. The bud or the sperm-cell can only give di- 
rection to the causes of growth, which yield vitality 
as the surplus of the force extracted from the sustain- 
ing material. 

Use of the Nerves.— By means of the nerves all the 
organs of the body are brought into harmony. They 
are the conducting wires by which the forces gener- 
ated in the system are kept in equilibrium. Where 
they do not exist there is no motion. They convey the 
excess of force existing in one organ to another when 



86 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

it is deficient, or to organs which do not generate the 
force which they need. 

As force cannot be created nor destroyed its mani- 
festations depend on chemical changes within the 
organism. This is true of the force used in the volun- 
tary and involuntary motions of the body. Even the 
movement of a finger, or the exhalation of a breath, 
necessitates consumption of material in the body. 
That is, every motion requires force, which is derived 
from some of the component particles of the organ- 
ism entering into new combinations, and thereby be- 
coming effete, and rejected by the system. They can- 
not be used a second time. 

The vital force stands in direct relation to chem- 
ical force, or in other words, to the amount of destruc- 
tion of tissues. It is precisely parallel to the results 
obtained by a galvanic battery. An atom of acid 
unites with an atom of zinc ; the attached wire trans- 
mits force which separates the most firmly united 
compounds, produces light, heat, or magnetic force; 
but we can never obtain any more force than that 
afforded by the original attraction of the atoms of 
acid and zinc. 

Thus it is that force is derived from the oxidation 
effected in the body, which must be proportional to 
the material consumed. In fevers, where the waste 
is great, heat is produced instead of muscular motion. 

Oxygen is the stimulant of living organisms, and at 
death their destroyer. It is only because the organs 
exposed to its action constantly present substances 
for which it has greater affinity, that they are pre- 
served. The living lung tissue has attraction for 
oxygen, but is protected by the blood, which has a 
greater attraction. The same may be said of the 
mucous membrane and cellular tissue; they readily 
combine with oxygen, and are protected by the sub- 
stances they present to take it up. Where such sub- 
stances cannot be presented, as in starving, these 
tissues yield to the action of oxj^gen. There is abso- 
lute correlation in the organic system. It has a cer- 
tain amount of force, which, if used in one direction, 
cannot be employed in another. If the involuntary 
motions are increased the voluntary are weakened; if 
the voluntary are violently overtasked the involun- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 87 

tary are weakened, sometimes to such an extent that, 
no force being left to carry on the vital processes, 
death results. The force which in plants is applied to 
unlimited growth is employed by animals in motion. 
This is effected through and by the muscles. Muscu- 
lar growth does not imply the exertion of force; for 
the conversion of blood into muscle is only a change 
of form, the composition being the same ; and change 
of form does not require expenditure of force, only 
right conditions. 

Correlation of Mind.— Arising to the lofty regions 
of the intellect, this correlation still holds. If man 
puts forth intellectual effort, it is so much force taken 
from some other direction, and is measured by or- 
ganic change in the body. This by no means explains 
the phenomena of mind, as is claimed by Materialism. 
Spiritual beings are composed of higher forms of 
matter; and hence their continued existence or im- 
mortality does not present the impossibility of iso- 
lated forces. The full discussion of this question of 
the individualization of forces in the human being, 
and the continuity of the existence thus originating, 
is presented in "Psychic Science." 

Perfection of Man. — The rudiments of the organs 
of sense appear low down in the scale of being. If we 
receive the theory that living beings were created by 
the forces of matter, and not for them, it is probable 
that there is a sense for every order of manifestation 
of which matter is susceptible. In man, all the organs, 
of which rudimentary indications are given in the 
lower orders, are perfected ; and we have thus a right 
to suppose him. to be susceptible to every sensation ca- 
pable of being expressed by and through matter. 
Were it otherwise he would possess some rudimentary 
sense for future ages to perfect. Sight, hearing, taste, 
touch, are all as perfect in animals as in man, and, in 
many, even more perfect; but he surpasses them in 
nervous sensibility, — a faculty dimly seen in the ani- 
mal world, and reaching to the spirit realm. 

This may almost be called a new sense, although it 
must be regarded as still rudimentary. A dim shadow 
of its capabilities is revealed by the clairvoyant. 
Through it matter reaches up to spirit ; and by it we 
learn the laws of that mystic realm. 



88 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

What Is Life?— What pass as explanations of ulti- 
mate causes by scientists, really are restatements of 
facts in new language, and evasion thereby of the 
primal cause. Science in its most accurately deter- 
mined walks cannot reach farther than this restate- 
ment. Pressed to give the cause it adopts a new 
nomenclature with which to describe the phenomena, 
and claims a full explanation. Nowhere else is this 
more conspicuous than in the province of life. The 
mysterious force which organizes matter into living 
beings is so obscure in its methods, and reaches to such 
attenuated atomies, not only imperceptible to the un- 
assisted eye. but, thus far, escaping the powers of the 
microscope in revealing their structure, that its exist- 
ence even has been denied, and a class of naturalists 
maintain that life is simply a manifestation of chem- 
ical affinity parallel to that of heat or electricity. Dr. 
Beals, who is a high authority, shows how the tissues 
of the animal body are created from bioplasm, sup- 
posed to be the material out of which all organized 
matter must be created. Bioplasm, or protoplasm is 
conceived to be a form of matter unorganized, yet 
capable of entering into organic forms. Its character 
is highly conjectural, and its existence even is far 
from demonstrated or demonstrable. ''Men and ani- 
mals, all their tissues and organs, their forms and 
structures, result from series of changes, which com- 
mence in a portion of matter too minute to be 
weighed, which is perfectly colorless, and which ap- 
pears perfectly structureless ; even if the particle of 
bioplasm be magnified five thousand diameters, not 
the faintest indication of fibres or particles exhibiting 
any special arrangement — in fact, not a trace of any- 
thing having structure — can be discerned. 

"The speck of living matter, however, absorbs cer- 
tain substances and increases by assimilating matter 
it selects, and changing it into matter like itself. Thus 
it gradually grows, and when it has attained a certain 
size, perhaps one two-thousandth of an inch in diam- 
eter, it divides, or small portions are detached from it, 
each of which grows like the primary particle, and in 
the same way gives origin to successors, from which 
tissues are at length produced." 

This is apparently an exceedingly careful descrip- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 89 

tion of the facts, but a complete failure to give the 
cause. What is the force which in this simple 
"bioplasm" carries forward the processes of diges- 
tion and assimilation in the same manner that they 
operate in the most complete beings ? Here is the be- 
ginning of that mysterious power called vital force, 
which, from the cell filled with "bioplasm," "not a 
trace of anything having structure, ' ' has carried that 
cell forward, step by step through the endless chain 
of intermediate forms to man. Can the natural sci- 
entist tell what it is? He points to evolution as a 
demonstrated solution. Evolution is only the method, 
and does not touch the cause. It has not even given a 
full statement of the method, and in that much fails to 
become a law. The underlying or permeating force is 
not touched. Evolution reaches down to the begin- 
ning, in the cell of a living being. At that point life 
is manifested through matter. 

The explanation is that this combination of mat- 
ter produces the appearance called life. In other 
words, vitality is a result of a form of chemical action, 
the same as heat. Heat, light, electricity, vitality, 
whether produced by action or reaction of the ele- 
ments, escape, and there is no reactionary effect on 
the substances yielding them, but vital force builds a 
structure for its manifestations, and pursues what can 
be called by no other name, an intelligent course from 
the beginning in the cell. Even then there is an aim 
and purpose, pursued with inflexible determination, 
and the beginnings of each age, or degree, are 
prophecies of the higher forms, of which they are un- 
finished sketches. Thou hast not, oh material Sci- 
entist, entered the inner temple of life, or learned the 
secrets of the source of vital force. You may weigh 
with finest balance, but the spirit will refuse to turn 
the beam. You may cut with keenest knife through 
the dead or quivering nerve, your material eyes will 
not detect the spirit which really feels. You cannot 
tell how ' ' bioplasm " or " protoplasm ' ' passes from the 
ranks of mineral crystallization to "organizable 
fluid. ' ' Of its properties you content yourselves with 
a guess, nor can you tell the difference between 
protoplasm dead and protoplasm living. 

Having approached the question of mind and its 






90 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

manifestations by way of strictly physical observa- 
tion, and shown how intimately it is related to the 
energies of the elements, perhaps the bridge is suf- 
ficiently completed to allow of crossing from the phys- 
ical to the spiritual side. When it is said that the 
phenomena of the world are effects of force we really 
offer no explanation. We remove the answer one step 
farther off, that is all, for then comes the query what 
gives efficiency and intelligence to force f A glance at 
the phenomena, and the deeper the study the more 
pronounced the impression becomes, produces the 
conviction that this force, whatever it is, like a fet- 
tered giant, is striving to express through matter a 
vast design. It cannot do this at once, but must com- 
mence with small beginnings and perfect the organ- 
isms through which it manifests by the slow process 
of evolution. 

Were the finest musician given nothing more than 
a block of wood and strings, he could not produce a 
musical note. He may stretch a string over a rude de- 
vice, and it will vibrate to his touch. Laboring on he 
may arrange two strings in unison, and further per- 
fecting, carve a sounding board, stretch more strings, 
and step by step groping his way, perfect an instru- 
ment responsive to his touch, and through it he can 
express his ideas of harmony. 

This illustrates the apparent method by which the 
impelling energy expresses itself. The first beings, 
the beginning of life in organized forms, are the low- 
est. There was not living material out of which to 
construct living organization, and the first effort was 
for its production. That living material was pro- 
toplasm, or the li physical basis" of life. It is an un- 
organized, jelly-like substance which, though not a 
living being, is capable of organization into such be- 
ings. A speck of this, floating free in the water, is the 
first and lowest individualization of life. 

These specks are too small to be seen by the un- 
assisted eye, and some are difficult to make out by 
means of a microscope of highest power. The Monas 
lens, not the smallest, is a lens shaped speck of this 
living jelly (protoplasm), with a long filament, by the 
vibration of which it propels itself through the water 
and uses like a hand to bring its food of smaller 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 91 

monads to its body. It has no mouth or stomach, and 
wherever the hand brings the food the body opens and 
closes around it, and it is dissolved into the plastic 
jelh r . This Monas may be taken as a type of the count- 
less organisms of this world unseen by the unaided 
eye. It multiplies by division, a stricture forming 
and cutting it in two equal halves which soon reach 
full size, and the process is repeated with such rapid- 
ity that in a few hours it may increase to millions. 
The size of the Monas is one four- thousandth of an 
inch in diameter, which means that a cup measuring 
one cubic inch would hold 125 billions of these beings, 
or 9,000 times the human population of the earth. 

Small as they are, yet these monads show in a de- 
gree the same intelligence in pursuit of food, selection 
and rejection, the avoidance of obstacles, caution and 
fear, and cunning in capturing their prey, that is seen 
in higher animals. 

The mouse in its sphere of life is as cunning as the 
elephant. A bee exhibits along the line of the neces- 
sities of its existence, as perfect reasoning powers as 
man — narrower limits, that is all. 

Intelligence is not estimated by weight or measure, 
and size does not count in its manifestation. 

The energy of nature in its first efforts to express 
itself through living beings, in the Monas or proto- 
plasmic substance, can do no more than make resist- 
ance to the conditions acting on its form of expres- 
sion. The Monas has sensibility. It recognizes light 
and heat and the presence of its food. It has no 
nerves, but it has been conjectured to have a "dif- 
fused" ner^e substance. Ascending to higher forms, 
we find a line of nerve fibre. The first string has been 
strung, and it vibrates to a higher intelligence. The 
nerve fibres develop step by step, and there is con- 
centration into' ganglia or brain centers. There is, at 
last, a central brain dominating all the others, and 
in man perfected into an instrument as perfect as can 
be formed of physical matter, and the energy back of 
all is able to more freely express itself. 

We have here used the terms force and energy be- 
cause they have been adopted by science. Really it 
makes little difference what terms are used for all 
refer to an unknown quantity. 



92 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Why is it more unscientific to affirm that there is a 
Cosmic Mind than that there is Cosmic Matter? We 
see the material universe, and do we not even more 
forcibly perceive the manifestations of this Cosmic 
Mind in all phenomena of the world ? 

Imperfectly it struggles through the organism of 
the Monas, and the best it can do is perception of 
light, heat and recognition of its food. By and 
through the brain of man it can transpose into 
thought the laws and principles by which the Cosmos 
is controlled. 

And this is not the end. By means of the physical 
man a spiritual man is evolved, organized of spiritual 
substance progressively to unfold to the perfect ex- 
pression of this Cosmic Mind. This being, the ripened 
fruitage of all time, will as far surpass the estate of 
man as man surpasses the monad. In that spiritual 
being the musician has outwrought his perfect handi- 
work. All the thousand strings are adjusted and 
attuned to vibrate to the touch of Cosmic Intelligence. 

Thus is individualized spirit a portion of Cosmic 
Life and Intelligence. It is not the least consequence 
by what name it is called. To the scientist, energy or 
force ; to the religionist, in the phraseology of the- 
ology, God. Discussion on this line must be a war of 
words. 



CHAPTER IV. 
SPIRITUAL ATMOSPHERE OF THE UNIVERSE. 



The Instrument Employed in Investigating — The Brain — The 
Impressibility of the Brain — Impressibility of Animals — 
Sympathy a Form of Impressibility — Abnormal Sensitive- 
ness of the Diseased — In Sleep — Influence of Locality on 
the Sensitive — The Image Sometimes Remains — Psycho- 
metric Dream — Blending of Individual Spheres — Conclu- 
sions — Relations of the Spiritual to the Animal in Man — 
Instinct — Reflections — The Spirit Loses Nothing — No Per- 
version in Animals — Perversion, Its Cause — Man's Intel- 
lectual Nature — Desires Insatiate — Moral Aspect — The 
Mandate of Conscience — The Test of Conduct. 

An atmosphere more sublimate than air 
Pervades all matter, be it here or there: 
No finite power its wrappings can disperse; 
For its thin billows lave the universe, — 
Each portion linking to all other parts, 
Whether stars, blossoms, or responding hearts. 

— Emma Rood Tuttle. 

The Instrument Employed in Investigating— The 
Brain. — As the investigator reaches the threshold of 
the domain of spirit, he meets phenomena protean in 
form and expression, but having a common family 
type. The object of the present chapter is to attempt, 
from observed facts, a generalization which shall 
unite the strangely diverse phenomena of impressi- 
bility. In the study of this subject we have a perfect 
instrument ready formed for our purpose, — the sensi- 
tive brain. Through its impressibility we become 
cognizant of spiritual forces, and, by its aid, are en- 
abled to enter the secret courts of the spirit. 

The Impressibility of the Brain.— The faculties of 
man may be readily traced in rudimentary form in the 
lower animals • and the impressibility of his nervous 



94 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

system forms no exception. Its presence can be seen 
in the lowest zoophytes or plant-animals. They seek 
the darkest places, and shrink from the influence of 
the light. This is the only sense they manifest. It is 
possessed by all animals; but the experiments of 
Spallanzani on bats show that they are possessed of 
highly somnambulistic faculties. 

Impressibility of Animals.— "Completely blinded 
bats were not in the slightest degree obstructed in 
their motions. They flew about by night and by day 
with their wonted rapidity, avoiding all obstacles 
which lay, or were intentionally placed in their way, 
as dexterously as if in full possession of their sight. 
They turned around at the right time when they ap- 
proached a wall, rested in a convenient situation when 
fatigued, and struck against nothing. The experi- 
ments were multiplied and varied in the most ingeni- 
ous manner. A room was filled with thin twigs; in 
another silken threads were suspended from the roof, 
and preserved in the same position at the same dis- 
tance from each other by means of small weights at- 
tached to them. The bat, though deprived of its eyes, 
flew through the intervals of these threads, as well as 
of the twigs, without touching them ; and, when the 
intervals were too small, it drew its wings more 
closely together. In another room a net was placed, 
having occasional irregular spaces for the bat to fly 
through, the net being so arranged as to form a small 
labyrinth ; but the blind bat was not to be deceived. 
In proportion as the difficulties were increased, the 
dexterity of the animal was augmented. When it flew 
over the upper extremity of the net, and seemed im- 
prisoned between it and the wall, it was frequently 
observed to make its escape most dexterously. When 
fatigued by its high flights it still flew rapidly along 
the ground, among chairs, tables, and sofas, yet avoid- 
ed touching anything with its wings. Even in the 
open air, its flight was as prompt, easy, and secure as 
in a close room, and, in both situations, altogether 
similar to that of its associates who had the use of 
their eyes." 

It is this impressibility that enables animals to in- 
fluence each other, man to influence man, or vice 
versa, That such influences exist there can be no 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 95 

doubt. The few facts I relate are representative of 
volumes which might be collected. The tiger shows 
the faculty of "charming," with the other members 
of the feline family. An interesting instance of its 
exertion is recorded by Lieutenant-Col. Davidson. 

4 ' My detachment, after passing through several low 
forests, was one morning encamped at Gorapichar, on 
a somewhat cleared spot, but still completely sur- 
rounded by jungle, reputed to be swarming with 
tigers and all other wild animals. I issued orders that 
none of the Europeans should lose sight of their tents ; 
but they were all wild lads, desperate after sport; 
and one of them, named Skelton, walked away from 
camp, with fusil in hand, and the honorable com- 
pany's ammunition in his pocket, eager to distinguish 
himself by the death of a tiger. 

"The consequence was, that had it not been that he 
was soon missed by his comrades he would undoubt- 
edly have been eaten up by a tiger for his disobedi- 
ence of orders. 

"He was reported absent; and I ordered a strict 
search to be made for him. A part of the Europeans 
immediately issued forth, and soon found the sports- 
man,- standing, musket in hand, wholly immovable 
and stupid, eagerly staring at a bush about thirty 
yards in advance. They spoke to him, but he could 
not answer. They rushed up and tried to rouse him ; 
but his eyes continued fixed. And then they observed 
the head of a tiger, with his brilliant eyes riveted on 
the intended victim, while his long curly tail was 
gracefully waving over his back in fond anticipation 
of a bloody feast. They shouted, and the tiger speed- 
ily vanished. Skelton was conveyed back to his tent; 
and so great was the shock given to his brain that 
many days elapsed before he recovered his usual vi- 
vacity ; and there was no more tiger-shooting during 
the remainder of the march to Asseer-Gurh. 

"I was, in the year 1831, executive engineer of the 
province of Bundlecund, and dwelt within the forests 
of Calpee, in a stout stone building, on the margin of 
the precipice, about sixty feet above the waters of the 
ancient river, the Jumna, and within a few yards of 
that classic spot at which one of the incarnations of 
Chrishna made his appearance on earth. 



96 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

"While within the building my attention was 
drawn, one morning, to piercing cries of great dis- 
tress, which I knew proceeded from one of that beau- 
tiful species of squirrel called 'gillairy, ' or striped 
Barbary squirrel. I quickly ran to the spot whence 
the sound proceeded, which was at the very edge of 
the precipice, then covered by many stunted bushes 
and trailing plants; and there I observed the gillairy 
about four or five feet from the bank, leaping back- 
wards and forwards, with his tail erect, upon a slen- 
der branch overhanging the river. The animal paid 
no attention whatever to my presence ; and I could 
not, for some time, discover the cause of his outcries. 
On looking more carefully I observed the head and 
about a couple of feet of the body of a large snake. 
The body of the reptile continued to undulate in a 
very gentle manner, but the head seemed to be almost 
on fire, so very brilliant were the almost fire-shooting 
and triumphant eyes, that seemed to anticipate his 
victory over the helpless squirrel, which seemed abso- 
lutely spellbound, for it made no effort to escape, 
which, under any other circumstances, it could have 
done with facility, by dropping down on a protruding 
part of the precipice, a few feet below the bough on 
which it traversed. Its cries became more and more 
urgent and piercing, and moved by compassion for 
suffering, I shot the serpent. The squirrel's cries in- 
stantly ceased, and it dropped down and disap- 
peared." 

The influence of this subtle power of animals on 
man has been recorded by the eminent and bold Dr. 
Caldwell. 

"We knew a gentleman, who, in the largest cham- 
ber, covered with a carpet, in the midst of deep dark- 
ness, could tell if a cat entered it with her stealthiest 
tread and in perfect silence. Nor could he tell in 
what way, or through which of his external senses, he 
made the discovery. When interrogated on the sub- 
ject his only reply was that he experienced a peculiar 
and disagreeable feeling, which told him that there 
was a cat in the room. Nor could he look on one dur- 
ing daylight without experiencing a sense of horror. ' ' 

Sympathy a Form of Impressibility.— This sym- 
pathy is strongly marked between intimate friends 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 97 

and relations, and gives the philosophy of the old say- 
ing, ''The Devil is always near when you talk about 
him." Some interesting cases have been recorded by 
Dr. Pratt. 

"A lady residing in my family, an invalid, under 
medical treatment at the time of this occurrence, was 
seized suddenly with what appeared to be an apo- 
plectic fit about two o'clock p.m. The fit continued till 
the next morning, the patient being perfectly insensi- 
ble to all surrounding friends and influences, after 
which she aroused to consciousness, stating that she 
had received a severe blow upon the forehead, in the 
region of the organ of benevolence, which had de- 
prived her of her senses; that her head now ached 
severely; that she felt faint, etc. She had no recol- 
lection of the time passed in the fit. 

1 ' Three days after this event, the cause of. the fit 
was satisfactorily explained to my mind, as follows : 
The lady's 'other half arrived, an invalid, having 
been struck down about two o'clock p. in., three days 
before, by the fall of a tackle-block from a mast-head, 
the blow being on the frontal portion of the head, 
scalping his forehead, and stunning him for nearly 
twelve hours, and rendering his life extremely doubt- 
ful. 

"Case 2nd. A lady with whom I conversed last 
winter, whose husband was an itinerant clergyman, 
informed me that she had repeatedly risen from her 
bed late at night, and prepared for the reception of 
her husband, whom she had no reason to expect home 
at that time, only from vague impressions. 'For two 
years,' said she, 'I have been in the habit of doing 
this ; and I have never once been mistaken in my im- 
pressions. My husband would often exclaim, "Why, 
Mary ! what made you think I was coming?" I could 
only answer that I thought so. ' 

"Case 3rd. A gentleman in the State of New 
York, while ploughing in the field, was suddenly shot 
through the heart, — at least this was his impression. 
His sensations were such that he could not work; and 
he put out his team and returned to the house, stating 
that he believed that his brother who was then a 
soldier in the Mexican war, had been shot through the 
heart, or had fallen in battle. Two months after that 



98 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the news arrived of his brother's death in battle, by a 
ball through the chest, occurring on the same day and 
hour of his impression. 

' ' From these examples it appears that there is such 
a phenomenon in the mental constitution as communi- 
cation between mind and mind, not only among 
friends present, but even sometimes when absent, 
however distant. 

"This is an effect of sympathy. Everyone has 
heard, in his own circle, of numerous instances of it. 
I am informed, for example, by a lady nearly related 
to me, that her mother always had such a warning at 
the time any near and dear friend died. This oc- 
curred so often as to leave no doubt whatever of the 
fact. It happened that this lady, more than once, 
made the voyage to and from India ; and that during 
the voyage, she, on several occasions, said to her 
daughter and to others, 'I feel certain that such a per- 
son is dead.' On reaching port these impressions 
were found to be true." 

Referring such astounding phenomena to sympathy 
is far from furnishing an explanation. What is this 
sympathy ? It must have a cause ; and from its uni- 
versality and resemblance among all races of men, and 
between every form of animal life, its cause must be 
universal, held in common, binding together all these 
diverse phenomena. 

Abnormal Sensitiveness of the Diseased.— The in- 
fluence exerted by surroundings accounts for many of 
the vagaries and inconsistencies of men, sometimes a 
kind of polarity is developed, so that the individual 
is restless when lying in any other position than that 
with his head to the north. The painful sensation so 
often experienced by those suffering from disease can 
often be dispelled by placing them in this position, 
and their restoration to health be thus accelerated. 

"Mr. Smith, a surgeon of Vienna, had received a 
chill of the right arm, and had for some time suffered 
from acute rheumatism, with the most painful cramps 
running from the shoulders to the fingers. His phy- 
sicians treated him with the magnet, which quieted 
the cramps; but they always returned. I found him 
lying with his head to the south. On my remarking 
this they brought him in direction of the magnetic 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 99 

meridian, with his head to the north. Directly after 
coming into this position he uttered expressions of 
pleasure ; he declared he felt refreshed and strength- 
ened. A pleasant uniform warmth diffused itself in 
the chilled part; he felt the pass of the magnet in- 
comparably more cooling and agreeable than be- 
fore ; and, before I came away, the stiffened arm and 
the fingers became movable, and the pain had wholly 
disappeared." 

The sensitive Miss Nowotny had sought a position 
exactly corresponding to the direction of the needle ; 
she found any other insupportable. Whenever she 
was placed in any other her pulse rose, her face 
flushed with increased flow of blood to her head, and 
she became restless and uncomfortable. Of all posi- 
tions, that of having her head to the west was most 
unbearable, being much worse than that of a south- 
north position. 

Disease and Sleep.— Terrestrial magnetism is ap- 
preciable by sensitive persons, modifying sleep and 
affecting the nervous forces. Of the influence of the 
sun, moon, and planets all is yet to be learned, and 
this will prove very much more even than is claimed. 

When any substance is exposed to the sunlight for 
some time it becomes luminous to those who are sensi- 
tive, and exerts a magnetic influence on them. This 
influence is conductible. When the subject, remain- 
ing in a dark room, takes hold of a wire passing out 
into the sunshine, he at once experiences the cooling 
sensation of magnetism. With the sun's rays water 
can be magnetized, a weak magnet strengthened ; and, 
when an individual exposes himself for a brief time in 
the sunshine, he becomes capable of exerting a strong 
magnetic influence. The moon's rays afford the same 
results ; but they seem to have a stronger attractive 
power, strongly drawing the subject's hand towards 
the object from which they emanate. 

The sun is the fountain of all life. Its rays cause 
the seed to germinate, the flower to unfold its petals, 
the bird to sing, and the mind of man to expand. Not 
only by its light and heat, but by the constant fluctua- 
tion of its electric, magnetic and actinic waves, which 
beat against the earth and all things therein millions 
of millions of times every second. 

L.cf C. 



100 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

Here is the key to the relation of sunlight to physi- 
ology. It is well known that many diseases are ag- 
gravated when night approaches, while others are 
more severe during the day. All varieties of nervous 
pains are generally more unbearable at night than 
during the day. This fact has been observed, but, by 
the materialism of modern science, referred summar- 
ily to imagination — the silence of the night gave free 
rein to fancy; and small aches became unbearable. 
During the day the half of the earth illuminated is 
positive to the other unilluminated hemisphere, which 
is negative, and as day and night follow each other, 
so do these opposed states. 

The sensations of evening are different from those 
of morning. We have enjoyed the light, and been 
positive, during the day. When night advances we 
are to sink into its negative embrace. We are to be- 
come passive in the enveloping darkness, and enter a 
state v ' twin brother to death. ' ' At morning we arise 
from invigorating rest to meet the positive day. It 
is more restorative to sleep during the night. It is 
then the subtile magnetic forces are in harmony with 
that state. Sleep during the day, in the most secluded 
apartments, is restless and feverish. This distinction 
is recognized by animals of all species, and by plants. 
The former, during the presence of the sun, absorb 
oxygen, and throw off carbonic acid; plants, on the 
contrary, absorb carbonic acid and yield oxygen. 
During the night the vital powers of the former are 
reduced to the lowest ebb ; and the latter reverse the 
process of combination, and throw off carbonic acid 
and absorb oxygen. Night is no more terrible than 
day; yet the mind, overcome by the negative condi- 
tion imposed then on all things, peoples it with fan- 
cies. It is the established season for ghosts, especially 
the hour of midnight. Night, too, is the wakeful sea- 
son for the author and thinker, who find it more fruit- 
ful of original thoughts ; for their minds are then pas- 
sive. After a bath in the sunlight, the shade is agree- 
able. In negative diseases the effect of sunlight is 
wonderfully beneficial, and in positive, darkness 
equally so. 

Influence of Locality.— Pfeff el, the blind German 
poet, appointed a young evangelical clergyman as his 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 101 

amanuensis, who led him when he walked out. As 
they passed a certain spot the poet observed that his 
attendant's arm trembled, and on questioning him, he 
was told by the young man that he experienced the 
peculiar sensations on passing this spot he always felt 
at places where bodies were interred. On going to the 
place at night he saw a weak light, like an immaterial 
name, waving over the spot. He described it as re- 
sembling a woman's form, with the feet a little ele- 
vated above the ground. As the ghost-seer protested 
that someone must be buried there, Pfeffel had the 
place dug up. At some depth, a solid layer of white 
lime was met with, about as long and as broad as a 
grave, tolerably thick; and when this was broken 
through they discovered the skeleton of a human 
body. 

"It had been covered with a layer of quick-lime, 
as is the custom in time of pestilence. The bones were 
taken out, the hole filled, and the surface levelled. 
When Billing was again taken there the appearance 
was gone, and the nocturnal spirit had vanished for- 
ever. ' ' 

This story rests on the authority of Eeichenbach, 
who, in pursuance of his research, conducted some of 
his sensitives to a churchyard, where they at once 
saw similar appearances over all the graves, especially 
the more recent ones. Although this flame has been 
a prolific source of ghost stories, we need not call 
ghosts to our aid to furnish an explanation. We know 
that this flame is produced by chemical change. All 
bodies undergoing change exhibit it. Of course, the 
decomposition occurring in a grave furnishes an abun- 
dant source, and, as these gaseous products slowly 
arise, so will the flame. 

It is said truly, that not to all is given the sight 
which enables them to see the ghosts which hover 
around churchyards, for all are not sufficiently sensi- 
tive; but many are, and are derided as cowardly or 
fanciful, when the objects they perceive are realities 
to them, as much as the tombstones are to others. It 
requires no stretch of fancy to shape the upright, wav- 
ing, luminous cloud into human form. Educational 
prejudice, the horror of the place, the dread season of 
night, generally beget sufficient fear to at once so 



102 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

shape the clouds much more distinctly than those we 
form into angels and beasts as they float through the 
sky. 

These ghosts are nothing more than the luminous 
flame produced by the chemical changes always ac- 
companying it. It is strange that this fact of chem- 
istry should have given rise to the most unbelievable 
stories of goblins and ghosts, having no more exist- 
ence than a wisp of flame, or fog-like cloud. 

The Image Sometimes Remains.— Sometimes the 
image of a thing remains impressed in the place where 
it has stood. M. Teste, in his journal, cites with re- 
spect to this, a curious experiment. A female som- 
nambulist enters the room, and exclaims, "What a 
pretty girl is sitting on that chair ! " At this exclama- 
tion, M. Teste observes to her that she is mistaken; 
that no pretty girl is there. Far from giving in to 
this declaration, she sees one on each chair ; and there 
were six of them. 

Unable to account for this hallucination, he con- 
tented himself with gathering exact details of the 
dress of these little girls, and confessed that a little 
girl precisely similar had been playing there for a 
moment before the somnambulist entered, and had 
jumped upon the six chairs, one after the other, sit- 
ting down on them. "I have often recognized that 
the image of natural objects, set in a certain place, 
remained there for a long time. ' ' 

Mrs. Denton, an extremely sensitive person, relates 
that on entering a car from which the passengers had 
gone to dinner, she was surprised to see the seats all 
occupied, 

' ' Many of them were sitting perfectly composed, as 
if, for them, little interest were attached to this sta- 
tion, while, others were already in motion (a kind of 
compressed motion), as if preparing to leave. I 
thought this was somewhat strange, and was about 
turning to find a vacant seat in another car, when a 
second glance around showed me that the passengers 
who had appeared so indifferent were really losing 
their identity, and, in a moment more, were invisible 
to me. I had had sufficient time to note the personal 
appearance of several; and taking a seat, I awaited 
the return of the passengers, thinking it more than 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 103 

probable I might in them find the prototypes of the 
faces and forms I had a moment before so singularly 
beheld. Nor was I disappointed. A number of those 
who returned to the cars I recognized as being, in 
every particular, the counterparts of their late but 
transient representatives. ' ' 

Psychometrical Dream.— The explanation of the 
following dream may seem incredible; but, after a 
thorough understanding of the vast generalization we 
are attempting of mental and physical phenomena, it 
may cease to appear so. 

"Several years ago, during a severe winter, the 
Schuylkill River, near Philadelphia, became thickly 
bridged over with ice, and thousands of persons re- 
sorted thither for the purpose of skating, sliding, etc. 
Among other inventions for the amusement of those 
visiting the place, there was a post sunk through the 
ice, at the top of which there was a point, and a hori- 
zontal revolving arm attached to it. To the end of 
this, the drag-ropes of sleds were attached ; so that, by 
pushing the shaft, the sleds, with persons on them, 
might be made to revolve swiftly in a circle upon 
the ice. Among the rest a negro got upon the sled; 
and the person in charge of the shaft caused it to re- 
volve so rapidly that the negro was thrown outward 
by the centrifugal force, and, striking violently 
against a large, projecting piece of ice, was killed in- 
stantly. 

"This occurrence was witnessed by a physician, a 
friend of my informant, who happened to be present. 
On that very evening the physician had occasion to 
prepare a dose of pills for one of his patients, a lady 
extremely susceptible to magnetic influences. As he 
was mixing the ingredients of the pills, and rolling 
them in his fingers, he related in all its particulars to 
persons in the office the occurrence he had witnessed 
on the river during the day. The pills were after- 
wards despatched to the lady by another person. The 
next day the physician, seeing one of the lady's fam- 
ily, inquired concerning her health. In the answer 
that was returned it was stated, among other things, 
that she had had a singular dream the night previous. 
She dreamed that she was somewhere on the ice where 
many people were sliding and skating; that she had 



104 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

there seen a negro thrown from a revolving sled 
against a cake of ice and instantly killed, etc. Her 
dream, as related, was an exact reproduction of all 
the essential statements of facts which had, without 
her knowledge, been given by the physician while he 
was preparing the medicine, and concerning which 
facts she had received no information from any quar- 
ter." 

The physician imparted his influence to the medi- 
cine, which, acting on an impressible mind, repro- 
duced his thoughts in the form of a dream. 

So the mechanic imparts a portion of himself to 
his wares, and the various articles of food are impreg- 
nated with the spheres of their producers. Dwellings 
partake of the influence of all those who have once 
entered them. Garments reproduce the characters of 
their wearers. Dwellings wherein countless persons 
enter, and the products of various climes are stored, 
are always pervaded by innumerable influences. 

''All houses wherein men have lived and died 

Are haunted houses." 

These affect all more or less, but only the extremely 
sensitive in a marked degree. Many who are not sus- 
ceptible while oppressed by the cares of the day are 
highly so during the negativeness of night and the 
passivity of sleep. These surrounding influences, 
blending, often reappear in dreams. It thus becomes 
apparent that localities have two distinct influences; 
one which may be called physical, dependent on the 
geological or mineralogical structure, whereby the 
magnetic currents are directed ; the other from the re- 
tained aura of the living beings that have dwelt 
therein. 

Individual Spheres Blending produce the distinc- 
tive characters of communities and cities. The em- 
anations from the earth — which Reichenbach terms 
"odyiic,"— which all minerals exhibit, also exert an 
influence in the determination of the character of the 
people dwelling on its surface. Sometimes persons 
feel this subterranean influence keenly, although, in 
ignorance of its cause, they fail to understand why 
they are disagreeably or agreeably affected. 

Conclusions. — The preceding facts lead to two con- 
clusions,— first, the impressibility of the nervous sys- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 105 

tern, not only of man, but of all animals ; second, that 
vibrations capable of exciting the nervous system are 
thrown off from all organic and inorganic substances. 

Granting this, no matter what theory of transmis- 
sion we receive, that of pulsation, or of simple force, 
there must exist a bond or medium of communication. 
A brain in England, to affect a brain in America, must 
do so through a connecting substance. Admitting the 
facts of impressibility, the existence of a spirit-ether, 
universal and all permeating, if not demonstrated, is 
a theory toward which all related facts gather in cul- 
minating evidence. 

To present this theory in the form of propositions : 

1. There is an all-pervading spirit ether. 

2. The brain is not only a thought-transmitting in- 
strument, it is also a receiver. It sends out vibrations 
into the spirit-ether, which may be taken up by other 
brains tuned in unison. It catches vibrations from 
that ether. 

The inferences and deductions from these proposi- 
tions are among the most sublime that can be enter- 
tained by the human mind. We here arrive at the 
vortex of causes of material things and spirit-forces. 

When an individual brain is attuned to these vibra- 
tions of what may be literally called the Infinite 
Spirit, the infinite ether which vibrates with the 
thoughts that laid the foundation of the Cosmos, 
and holds each atom in its perpetual change, which 
thrills with every thought in the universe, then it is 
able to receive according to the chords which are re- 
sponsive. It will take the poetic, the artistic, the 
mathematic, according to its attuning. In the direc- 
tion to receive, will it arise above the level of those 
less fortunately endowed. 

Yet more, such sensitives attract those who follow 
the same line of thought on the other side, and receive 
specialized, or direct personal messages. 

The recipients may be, and usually are, wholly un- 
conscious of the source of their inspiration, and the 
world gives to them the reward of success. The states- 
man on a great occasion, super-sensitive by the in- 
tensity of his effort, may become a vortex of the 
thoughts of immortals, and by wisdom expressed with 
miraculous eloquence, and the magnetic vibrations of 



106 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

which he is the radiant center, change the fate of na- 
tions, and mankind. 

In this manner a poet may write in measure of the 
music of the spheres ; an inventor grasp principles 
which elude his less receptive moments. 

This is the highest phase of mediumship. Can it be 
attained by those who desire it? It can be ap- 
proached by all, attained by many. How? This will 
be explained in a succeeding chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 

ANIMAL MAGNETISM, HYPNOTISM, 
MESMERISM: 

Boundaries, Laws, and Relations to Spirit. 



Necessity of Investigating the Laws of Magnetism — Hypno- 
tism or Mesmerism? — Apollonius — Man Possesses This In- 
fluence Over animals — Animals Can Influence Man — Ani- 
mals Can Influence Each Other — Why Do We Think of 
Those Who Are Thinking of Us? — Influence of Man Over 
Man — Spirit Ether — Impressibility of the Brain — Psychom- 
etry Applied — Likes and Dislikes — Application to Fortune 
Telling — Animal Magnetism as a Curative Agent — Use of 
Prayer — Magnetic Healing Among Savages — Hypnotic 
Cure — Application to Spirit Communion — A Safe Rule — 
Practical Application of Hypnotism. 

Necessity of Investigating the Laws of Animal 
Magnetism. — The custom to refer everything of a 
psychic character to spiritual influence makes it nec- 
essary to clearly define the sphere of each. Being 
similar in manifestations, and governed by the same 
laws, the phenomena are intimately blended. These 
have received various names, as neurology, patheism, 
psychodunamy, and, lastly, hypnotism, the most pop- 
ular. Mesmerism was brought into disrepute by the 
wild theories and charlatanry of Mesmer ; hypnotism 
is too narow ; and with clear definition, magnetism is 
preferable. 

Hypnotism or Mesmerism?— Scientific men long 
ago, to their own satisfaction, proved mesmerism to 
be a delusion, and when it reappeared as animal mag- 
netism and od force, they gave it no more than a pass- 
ing thought, a word of ridicule or a sneer. At last 
they have awakened to the incomparable value of the 



108 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

subject, and have bestowed a great deal of time and 
attention to the phenomena it presents. They, how- 
ever, still hold that mesmerism, or animal magnetism, 
is delusive, and they scorn to recognize any of its 
phenomena. But they do accept and explain the phe- 
nomena that passed under the name of mesmerism, 
magnetism, etc., by that wonderful word, hypnotism? 

It is astonishing what a change of front can be pro- 
duced by a name. In Europe, especially in France, 
there is great activity in the investigation of this sub- 
ject, and the narratives of the results read like fairy 
tales. Impressed into the healing art astonishing 
cures are effected, and it is even employed to lead the 
criminal to ways of morality. Animals are hyp- 
notized. The hypnotizing of a hen was among the first 
experiments. The hen was held firmly in the hands 
and pressed on a table. Its head was drawn out and 
pressed down, then a chalk mark was drawn extend- 
ing from either eye. The hands were slowly removed, 
and the fowl remained motionless. It was a pretty 
experiment, and set whole societies of learned men 
laughing. It was precisely similar to the "profes- 
sor" lecturing on the subject, closing the eyes of some 
volunteer, and then "Avilling" him to do ridiculous 
acts. The animal is less sensitive to the will, but is 
overcome by its ' ' concentrated attention. ' ' There has 
been little, and comparatively speaking, no attention 
paid to this subject in America. In France several 
men have made themselves famous by more or less 
successful investigations. 

What is hypnotism? To answer this question sat- 
isfactorily has been undertaken by each and every 
one in the very commencement. They have not been 
content to await until they better knew what they 
had to define. They all appear to be biassed in favor 
of its abnormal character. To the student of man 
from the spiritual side, these efforts are both pitiable 
and laughable. 

M. Charcot, who claimed to have founded a science 
of hypnotism, argued that it is a diseased state of the 
soul, and hence its use as a therapeutic agency should 
be discarded as more likely to result in failure than 
success. The schools of Nancy and Paris, if they may 
receive this appellation, vehemently oppose this dis* 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 109 

ease theory. Professor Bernheim, of the former, says : 
"The hypnotic state is a peculiar psychical condition 
which can be provoked artificially, and which to a 
varying degree augments suggestibility." Dr. Forel 
of the same school says it is "the idea of suggestion." 
Dr. Suys of the Paris school says : "Hypnotism is an 
experimental extra-physiological state of the nervous 
system." We knew hypnotism was a "psychical con- 
dition," that the sensibility was "augmented," that 
it was an "extra-physiological state," and these so- 
called definitions are simply word juggling — the sub- 
stitution of words repeating the same idea. 

If the scientists from the material side have not 
learned even to define the subject, those who have 
studied it from the spiritual are able not only to do 
that but its limitations also. 

In the beginning it is a perfectly normal state, vary- 
ing in degree as the subject is more or less sensitive. 
It is not allied to the state of normal sleep as the 
Nancy School, represented by Dr. Bernheim, advo- 
cates. He makes the hypnotic state the effect of sug- 
gestion, and remarks that ' ' sleep itself is only sugges- 
tion." That is, the idea of sleep is impressed on the 
mind of the subject so strongly that it takes exclusive 
possession; the subject believes that he will fall 
asleep, and does so. This view is essentially the same 
as that of the "dominant idea" which has figured so 
largely and absurdly with some American writers on 
the subject. The errors result from blending in the 
same class phenomena alike only in appearance. In 
the mesmeric or hypnotic state, as understood by the 
material school, many distinct phases, each of which 
requires special attention, are blended. 

The great value Of mesmerism, which as yet is not 
fully appreciated, is in the fact that it has made it pos- 
sible to command many of the most evanescent phe- 
nomena, and allow of their careful examination when, 
otherwise, they come at such rare intervals and such 
unexpected moments as make it impossible to care- 
fully compare and study them. 

All these states or conditions are classified under 
the sixth sense. Sleep is not allied to them, for it is 
the state of negative repose in which there enters no 
manifestation of thought in its profoundest aspect, 



.10 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

and, as unlike clairvoyance, or the true sensitive state, 
as that of wakefulness ; but shaded into this state of 
sleep, as into that of wakefulness, are various de- 
grees of sensitiveness. This sensitiveness is modified 
by the influence of sleep, and hence arises a peculiar 
class of manifestations, respecting which I will briefly 
quote from ' ' Psychic Science " : 

' ■ We will simply, for convenience, divide the sensi- 
tive state into the hypnotic, somnambulic and clair- 
voyant; but it must be borne in mind that these 
merge into each other, and no sharp line can be drawn 
between them. Mesmerism may be regarded as the 
method by which all these states may be induced. The 
mesmeric state is equivalent to the hypnotic. After 
years of delay mesmerism has been accepted under 
another name, but the theory of a 'fluid' or specific in- 
fluence is discarded. Hypnotics cannot, however, ex- 
ceed the most common experiments without the facts 
demanding, even as a working hypothesis, this spe- 
cific influence. 

"There are two distinct states of hypnotism. The 
first is that in which most platform experiments are 
made. The sensitive is capable of carrying on con- 
versations, answering questions, and is governed by a 
'dominant idea,' believing all the operator wishes and 
doing as he commands. The sensitive rapidly enters 
the next stage, wherein he becomes insensible to pain 
and irresponsive to any one except the operator. Un- 
til this stage is reached consciousness and memory are 
retained, a fact fatal to the theory of automatic ac- 
tion, or 'unconscious cerebration.' In this profound 
state the sensitive has no memory of events which 
occur. It is an induced, incipient somnambulism, the 
true counterpart of that which under proper condi- 
tions appears spontaneously." 

"In the hypnotic state the subject is under the con- 
trol of the operator, and in a great degree an auto- 
maton; in the somnambulic he in part regains his in- 
dividuality, and in certain lines of thought and ac- 
tion is superior to himself in his waking moments." 
Pursuing this line of thought, clairvoyance is the 
last and most profound condition of the sensitive 
state. It borders on death, which it always pre- 
cedes." 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. Ill 

The sensitive state is thus seen to begin with the 
hypnotic stage, (where a hen remains motionless be- 
cause nrmiy pressed. on a table until it is persuaded 
that it cannot move ; or the human subject closes his 
eyes because told to do so, and finds he has no will to 
open them) ; and after passing through many won- 
derful phases, such as thought reading, impressibility, 
and somnambulism, it reaches clairvoyance and inde- 
pendent trance. 

The ablest investigator among the ' ' scientists ' ' has 
not taken a single step beyond the threshold of the 
lowest phase of hypnotism. It is not strange, then, 
that the theories they promulgate, to cover all these 
multitudinous phenomena, fail when applied beyond 
their narrow field of research. 

You may place a silver coin in the hand of a sub- 
ject, and, after gazing at it for a time, he will, when 
commanded, close his eyes, and believe he is an en- 
tirely different person. He is under the power of 
*< suggestion, " or controlled by a "dominant idea," 
the victim of "unconscious cerebration." Ah, yes, 
grant all that is here claimed. Soon, however, if 
highly sensitive he passes beyond the control of the 
operator. No one idea ' ' dominates. ' ' He is endowed 
with mental powers superior to his normal gifts. He 
is conscious of events transpiring at remote distances, 
and prescient to those which will occur in the future. 
He has shaken off the control of the operator and the 
limitations of the corporeal body and is endowed with 
superior senses of perception. Applied to this state, 
how absurd and puerile the theories of the "learned 
doctors" and "professors" appear! 

Yet they would juggle all these various states to- 
gether into a pot pourri, and labelling it hypnotism, 
gain eclat before scientific associations, by their crude 
theories of "suggestion" and "dominant ideas," and 
' ' unconscious cerebration. ' ' 

Apollonius of Tyana was one of the most successful . 
magnetists. He was famous for healing diseases, 
for his clairvoyance, and for foretelling future events. 
While delivering a public lecture at Ephesus, in the 
midst of a large assembly, he saw the Emperor 
Domitian being murdered at Rome ; and it was proved 
to the satisfaction of all that, while the murder was 



112 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

taking place, he described every circumstance at- 
tending it to the crowd, and announced the very in- 
stant in which the tyrant was slain. It is recorded 
that so great was his magnetic influence that "his 
mere presence, without uttering a single word, was 
sufficient to quell a popular tumult. ' ' As we are thus 
drawing examples from antiquity, we might mention 
the narrative recorded in the Holy Writ — the case 
of Saul when he entered the woman of Endor's house. 
She knew not who he was ; but when her spiritual 
powers were excited she immediately recognized him. 
Swcdenborg gives a striking illustration of the de- 
velopment of this sense. By its aid he seemed to be- 
come en rapport with the spheres. 

Once, while dining with a company of friends some 
miles distant from his own town, he became greatly 
agitated, arose, walked out, but soon came in com- 
posed, and informed the company that there had been 
a great conflagration in his town ; that it had spread 
nearly to his residence, but had there been extin- 
guished, while within only a single door, of his house. 
This was all true. 

Innumerable anecdotes might be related to prove 
that the mind, when in a peculiar srtate, receives 
knowledge of things of which none of the senses can 
be the channel of communication. I call this a sense. 
Perhaps "impressibility of the brain" would be a bet- 
ter term ; but it is certain this sensibility differs from, 
and cannot be referred to any one of the senses. 

Animal magnetism was acknowledged in very an- 
cient times. Thus it has been recorded of Pythagoras, 
who flourished five centuries before Christ, "that his 
influence over the lower animals was very great. He 
is said to have tamed a furious bear, prevented an ox 
from eating beans, and stopped an eagle in its flight. ' ' 

Man Possesses This Influence Over Animals.— The 
power of man over the horse is well known. Rarey 
became famous for his magnetic force, which inspired 
him with such confidence that he fearlessly met the 
most vicious animals. 

According to Bruce, the African traveller, all the 
blacks of the kingdom of Sennaar are completely 
armed against the reptiles of their clime. "They take 
horned serpents into their hands at all times, put them 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 113 

into their bosoms, and throw them at each other as 
children throw apples or balls; during which sport 
the serpents are seldom irritated, and when they do 
bite no mischief ensues from the wound." He posi- 
tively affirms that they sicken the moment that they 
are laid hold of, and are so exhausted by this power 
as to perish. "I constantly observed that however 
lively the viper was before, upon being seized by these 
barbarians, he seemed as if he had been taken with 
sickness and feebleness, frequently shut his eyes, and 
never turned his mouth towards the arm that held 
him." 

We see the same power in the influence housebreak- 
ers possess over the most savage of watch-dogs, and 
showmen who enter the cage of fierce lions. 

Animals Can Influence Man.— This influence may 
be exerted in an opposite direction ; and well-attested 
anecdotes are extant, showing that man may become 
fascinated by the lower animals. 

A gentleman once, walking in his garden, accident- 
ally saw the eyes of a rattlesnake, and by watching it 
closely, he found to his dismay that he could not with- 
draw them. The snake appeared to him to swell to 
an immense size, and in rapid succession assume the 
most gorgeous colors, rivalling the rainbow in beauty. 
His senses deserted him, and he grew dizzy, and 
would have fallen towards the snake, to which he 
seemed irresistibly drawn, had not his wife, coming 
up at that moment, thrown her arms around his neck, 
thereby dispelling the charm and saving him from 
destruction. 

Two men, in Maryland, were walking along the 
road, when one, seeing something by the way, stopped 
to look at it while his companion went on. But the 
latter, perceiving he did not follow, turned around to 
know the cause, when he found that his eyes were 
directed towards a rattlesnake, whose head was 
raised and eyes glaring at him. Strangely enough the 
poor fellow leaned as far as possible towards his 
snakeship, crying piteously all the time, "He will bite 
me ! he will bite me ! ' ' 

"Sure enough he will," said his friend, "if you do 
not move off. What are standing there for?" Find- 
ing him deaf to all his entreaties, he struck the crea- 



114 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ture down with his cane, and pushed his friend from 
the spot. The man thus enchanted is stated to have 
been sick for several hours. But we cannot multiply 
cases of this description, which are common fireside 
anecdotes. 

Animals Can Influence Each Other.— Cases of 
snakes fascinating birds are common. 

Professor Silliman mentions that, in 1823, he was 
proceeding in a carriage with a friend along the banks 
of the Hudson River, when he observed a flock of 
small birds, of different species, flying hither and 
thither, but never departing from the central point. 
He found that this point of attraction was a large 
snake, which lay coiled up with head erected, eyes 
brilliant, and incessantly darting its tongue. When 
disturbed by the carriage he went into the bushes, 
while the birds alighted on the branches overhead, 
probably to await the reappearance of their deadly 
enemy. 

A man from Pennsylvania returning from a ride, 
saw a blackbird flying in lessening circles around the 
head of a rattlesnake, uttering frightful screams all 
the time. He drove the snake away, and the bird 
changed its note to a song'of rejoicing. 

Newman relates an anecdote of a gentleman who, 
while travelling by the side of a creek, saw a ground 
squirrel running to and fro between a brook and a 
great tree a few yards distant. The squirrel's hair 
looked extremely rough, and showed that he was 
much frightened. Every return was shorter and 
shorter. The gentleman stood to observe the cause, 
and soon discovered the head of a rattlesnake point- 
ing directly at the squirrel, through a hole in the 
great tree, which was hollow. At length the squirrel 
gave up running, and lay down close by the snake, 
which opened its mouth and took in the squirrel's 
head. The gentleman gave him a cut with the whip, 
which caused him to draw back his head, when the 
squirrel, thus liberated, ran quickly to the brook. 

Such curious phenomena have long been observed 
and speculated upon. To extend the list is unneces- 
sary ; for almost every one has observed the facts for 
himself. 

They establish the conclusion that this influence or 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 115 

impressibility is not the result of sympathy or im- 
agination, for it is experienced by animals that can- 
not be said to have any great degree of either. It is 
a power possessed by animals as well as by man. Ani- 
mals influence man; man influences animals; animals 
influence each other; and man controls man. 

Why Do We Think of Those Who Are Thinking of 
Us? — How often do we think of those, who, while we 
know it not, are approaching us? So general is this 
experience that it has passed into a proverb. 

I And two facts illustrating this in the "Univer- 
coelum." 

"'A clergyman informed me that his mother-in- 
law, Mrs. P , residing in Providence, R. I., had a 

distinct consciousness of the approach of her husband, 
on his return from sea, although she had no other rea- 
son to expect his arrival at the time. This impression 
commenced several hours before he made his appear- 
ance ; and she accordingly prepared herself for his 
reception. She knew the instant he placed his hand 
upon the door, and had arisen from her seat, and ad- 
vanced to meet him before he entered. 

' * The wife of a clergyman in Maine lately informed 
me that her father, while lying on his deathbed, had a 
distinct perception of the approach of his son, who re- 
sided in a distant town, though none of the family 
expected him at the time. When he mentioned that 
his son was coming, and near the house, they sup- 
posed him to be wandering in his thoughts ; but in a 
few minutes afterwards the son entered. ' ' 

The following is taken from the transactions of the 
French Academy, found in "Newman's Magnetism." 

"On the 10th of September, at ten o'clock at night, 
the commission met at the house of M. Itardt, in or- 
der to continue its inquiries upon Carot, their mes- 
meric subject, who was in the library, where conversa- 
tion had been carried on with him till half-past seven ; 
at which time, M. Foissac, the magnetizer, who had 
arrived since Carot, and had waited in the antecham- 
ber, separated from the library by two closed doors 
and a distance of twelve feet, began to magnetize 
him. Three minutes afterwards, Carot said : 'I think 
that Foissac is there, for I feel myself oppressed and 
enfeebled. ' At the expiration of eight minutes he 



116 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

was completely asleep. He was again questioned and 
answered us," etc. 

Carot did not know that M. Foissac was near, and 
yet by some means the irresistible influence overcame 
him. 

Influence of Man Over Man.— It has been an adage 
from all antiquity that young people were not so 
healthy for living with the old. The Hebrews acted 
on this idea when they procured a young damsel for 
their old king, David, that he might be invigorated 
by her strength. There is an anecdote extant of an 
aged female who compelled her servants to retire in 
the same bed with herself, that she might prolong 
her life thereby, and carried this horrid vampirism to 
such an excess that, her maids all becoming sickly 
after a time, she could induce none to work for her, 
and, in consequence, expired. 

An eminent physician states a fact pertinent in this 
connection. 

''I was a few years since consulted about a pale, 
sickly, and thin boy of about five or six years of age. 
He appeared to have no specific ailment; but there 
was a slow and remarkable decline of flesh and 
strength, and of the energy of all the functions — 
what his mother very aptly termed ' a gradual blight. ' 
After inquiring into the history of the case, it came 
out that he had been a very robust and plethoric child 
up to his third year, when his grandmother, a very 
aged person, took him to sleep with her ; that he soon 
after lost his good looks, and that he had continued to 
decline progressively ever since, notwithstanding 
medical treatment." 

The boy was removed to a separate sleeping apart- 
ment, and his recovery was very rap*id. 

A case lately came under my observation, where a 
consumptive, on the very verge of the grave, expect- 
ing to die every hour, and of course too feeble to 
move, on being magnetized, arose under the influence, 
and walked about the room; yet as soon as the in- 
vigoration became expended she was as weak as pre- 
viously, and in the course of a few days expired. She 
was too near death to recover; and though magnet- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 117 

ism might protract life, and cause a momentary ex- 
citation, it could not save. 

It is from this cause that magnetic practice ex- 
hausts the magnetizer : not from his exertion in mak- 
ing passes, but the drain of nervous force. 

Spirit Ether.— Whatever this influence may be it 
must pass across greater or less distances to produce 
the effects observed. It cannot be transmitted across 
a void : It must have its own means of conduction. 
What do the facts teach ? They all point in one direc- 
tion, and are susceptible of generalization, as flowing 
from one common source, — a universal spiritual ether. 

The Impressibility of the Brain, discovered in 1842, 
by Dr. Buchanan^ opened a new field for human 
thought. To his surpassing powers of research we 
owe the opening of the portals of a new science, com- 
prising and generalizing all mental sciences. Psy- 
chometry is the key by which the mysteries of many 
of the most occult sciences may be explored. It gives 
the historian a barque which will conduct him safely 
down the stream of time, beyond all preserved chron- 
icles, where his tattered manuscript becomes confused 
in dates, and records imperfectly, and wafts on the 
psychologist through millions of cycles, down, down 
to the beginning of life in this world, when desolation 
and raging elements made the earth a chaos of con- 
tention. This field has as yet been scarcely defined, 
so varied are the conditions to be determined, and so 
great the skill requisite in experimentation, that it 
almost seems presumptive to make the attempt. Mr. 
Denton, following in the steps of Dr. Buchanan, has 
extended his experiments over almost every field of 
research; and so numerous are the people who are 
impressible that those who desire may readily re- 
view their labors. 

Psychometry Applied.— Reading character from 
letters is not its sole application. It is a valuable ally 
to the historian and the antiquarian, carrying them 
beyond the conflicting accounts of the written page, 
confused and contradictory. How interesting would 
be the true character of Alexander, Caesar, or Na- 
poleon, obtained in this manner, free from the preju- 
dices of their biographers or their times ! The linen 
which shrouds the Egyptian mummy will yield a per- 



118 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

feet delineation of the character of the class thought 
worthy to be embalmed. The relics fromHerculaneum 
will give the character of Romans who lived two 
thousand years -ago. The character of those races 
that scattered mounds and fortifications over the 
American continent can be determined from their 
relics. 

Nor does susceptibility rest here. It takes the 
paleontologist by the hand and leads him down 
through the carboniferous shales and sandstones, and, 
by the aid of the smallest organic relic, gives him a 
perfect description of the world in its various stages 
of growth and development, describing the dark 
waters, the smoky atmosphere, and the huge and 
unique forms which peopled the ancient world. It 
revels amidst the extinct fauna and flora of the ages, 
and is the only method by which a correct idea of .the 
aspect of this planet in its infantile state can be 
gained. 

In magnetism, the aura reproduces the magnetizer's 
thoughts in the magnetized; so the invisible aura of 
the manuscript reproduces the precise action of the 
brain by which it was produced, and consequently the 
same thoughts, more or less distinct in proportion to 
the impressibility of the psychometrist. 

This capability of a manuscript or a lock of hair to 
yield the character of the writer or owner is analo- 
gous to the phosphorescence of bodies exposed to 
light. When the sun shines on some substances they 
will continue to shine for a length of time after they 
are withdrawn from its influence. They are set in 
vibration in unison with and by the light of the sun. 

Not that the individual, while performing the ex- 
periment is magnetized; no trace of this can be dis- 
covered; but as it succeeds best with those who are 
easily influenced, and whose organs of impressibility 
are large and active, it must be admitted that the 
mind is influenced in precisely the same manner, 
though not to the same degree. The two influences 
are identical in their nature, varying only in quantity. 
In one the whole energies of the mind are em- 
ployed; while in the other a scrap of writing is all 
that can be used. 

This identity is proved by an impressible person 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 119 

placing his hand upon the head of one whose charac- 
ter he wishes to delineate; the influence will be felt 
sooner and with greater intensity than from an auto- 
graph. Impressibility is the best delineator. It en- 
ters into the depth of the mind, lays bare all its 
thoughts and emotions, and from this deep, penetrat- 
ing gaze, understands Man. It recognizes the mind 
itself, and hence can better give the methods of its 
just control. 

As spiritual susceptibility increases, the influences 
of the stars will be recognized ; and from the emana- 
tions of light, leaving their twinkling orbs millions of 
ages ago, their history and composition will be deter- 
mined. 

Likes and Dislikes. — Impressibility may become so 
intense as to be very annoying. The spirit is con- 
stantly bruised by conflicting emanations. So great 
sometimes are the shocks thus received as to lead to 
disastrous results. Our likes and dislikes of persons, 
places, or objects, for which we can assign no reason, 
may thus be accounted for. 

1 'In the town of North Walsham, Norfolk, 1788, the 
1 Fair Penitent ' was performed. In the last act, when 
Caliste lays her hand on the skull, a Mrs. Berry, who 
played the part, was seized with an involuntary shud- 
dering, and fell on the stage. During the night her 
illness continued; but the following day, when suf- 
ficiently recovered to converse, she sent for the stage- 
keeper, and anxiously inquired where he procured the 
skull. He replied from the sexton, who informed him 
it was the skull of one Norris, a player, who, twelve 
years before, was buried in the graveyard. That 
same Norris was her first husband. She died in six 
weeks. ' ' 

She was highly susceptible, and the shock pro- 
duced by the influence from the skull, recognized by 
her to be so like that of her former husband, was too 
great for her to bear. 

Application to Fortune-Telling.— Fortune-telling is 
an application of psychometry. It is easy for an im- 
pressible person to take another's hand, and narrate 
the events of his past life. In this, fortune-tellers gen- 
erally succeed. If highly impressible, they may re- 



120 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ceive intuitions of the future. There are many re- 
markable instances on record of persons who at once 
read the past lives of those with whom they came in 
contact, among whom the celebrated German author, 
Zsehokke, is perhaps most conspicuous. He writes of 
himself as follows : 

" 'What demon inspires you? Must I again be- 
lieve in possession?' exclaimed the spiritual Johann 
Von Riga, when, after the first hour of his acquaint- 
ance, I related his past life to him, with the avowed 
object of learning whether or not I deceived myself. 
We speculated long on the enigma; but even his 
penetration could not solve it. Not another word 
about this strange seer gift, which I can aver was of 
no use to me in a single instance; which manifested 
itself occasionally only, and quite independently of 
my volition, and often in relation to persons in whose 
history I took not the slightest interest. Nor am I 
the only one in possession of this faculty. In a jour- 
ney, I met an old Tyrolese. He fixed his eyes on me 
for some time, joined in the conversation, observed 
that, though I did not know him, he knew me, and be- 
gan to describe my acts and deeds, to the no little 
amazement of the peasants, and astonishment of my 
children, whom it interested to learn that another 
possessed the same gift as their father. 

"I myself had less confidence than any one in this 
mental jugglery. So often as I revealed my visionary 
gifts to any new person, I regularly expected to hear 
the answer, ' It was not so ! ' I felt a secret shudder 
when my auditors replied that it was true, or when 
their astonishment betrayed my accuracy before they 
spoke. Instead of many, I will mention one exam- 
ple, which pre-eminently astounded me. One fair 
day, in the city of Waldshut. I entered an inn (The 
Vine) in company with two young student-foresters. 
We were tired of rambling through the woods. We 
supped with a numerous company at the table d' hote, 
where the guests were making very merry with the 
peculiarities and eccentricities of the Swiss, with 
Mesmer's magnetism, Lavater's physiognomy, etc., 
etc. One of my companions, whose national pride was 
wounded by their mockery, begged me to make some 
reply, particularly to a handsome young man who 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 121 

sat opposite to us, and who had allowed himself ex- 
traordinary license. This man's former life was pre- 
sented to my mind. I turned to him, and asked him 
whether he would answer me candidly if I related to 
him some of the most secret passages of his life, I 
knowing as little of him, personally, as he did of me. 
That would be going a little farther, I thought, than 
Lavater did with physiognomy. He promised, if I 
were correct in my information, to admit it frankly. 
I then related what my vision had shown me, and the 
whole company were made acquainted with the pri- 
vate history of the young merchant, — his school 
years, his youthful errors, and, lastly, with a fault 
committed in reference to the strong-box of his prin- 
cipal. I described to him the uninhabited room, with 
whitened walls, where, to the right of the brown door, 
on a table, stood a black moneybox, etc. 

"A silence prevailed during the whole narration, 
which I alone occasionally interrupted by inquiring 
whether I spoke the truth. The startled young man 
confirmed every particular, and even, what I scarcely 
expected, the last circumstance. Touched by his can- 
dor I shook hands with him over the table and dis- 
closed no more. He asked my name, which I gave 
him ; and we remained together talking till past mid- 
night." 

Animal Magnetism as a Curative Agent.— Magnet- 
ism has been from earliest ages, and among all races, 
employed in the cure of disease. "The practice of 
rubbing or pressing or squeezing the limbs of a per- 
son suffering under pain or weariness is carried to a 
great extent in India. Even among the lower orders, 
the wife may often be seen employed in this soothing 
avocation, to the great relief of her fatigued husband. 
Females practice it professionally in most of the prin- 
cipal bazaars, and there are but few men or women of 
rank or opulence who are not subjected to the opera- 
tion before they can procure sleep. Such is the fact. 
The mind of the operator is mesmerically fixed on 
the body of the patient, with the hope and view of re- 
moving pain ; and by a series of the most powerful and 
continued grasping of the hands (used as indices to 
the will), this object is ultimately accomplished." 

The cure which I shall now relate could not in any 



122 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

conceivable manner, nor with any candor, be attrib- 
uted to the effects of imagination. It can only be ex- 
plained by the action of mesmerism. 

"The wife of one of my grooms, a robust woman, 
the mother of a large family of young infants, all liv- 
ing within my grounds, was bitten by a poisonous ser- 
pent, most probably by a cobra or coluber naja, and 
quickly felt the deadly effects of its venom. When 
the woman's powers were rapidly sinking, the ser- 
vants came to my wife to request that the civil sur- 
geon of the station (Bareilly in Rohilcund), Dr. 
Gromes, might be called to save her life. He imme- 
diately attended, and most readily exerted his utmost 
skill; but in vain. In the usual time the woman ap- 
peared to be lifeless ; and he therefore left, acknowl- 
edging that he could not be of any further service. 

"On his reaching my bungalow, some of my ser- 
vants stated that in the neighborhood a fakir, or wan- 
dering mendicant, resided, who could charm away the 
bites of snakes, and begged, if the doctor had no ob- 
jection, that they might be permitted to send for him. 
He answered, 'Yes, of course; if the people would 
feel any consolation by his coming they could bring 
him, but the woman is dead.' After a considerable 
lapse of time the magician arrived, and commenced 
his magical incantations. 

' ' I was not present at the scene ; but it occurred in 
my park, and within a couple of hundred yards of 
my bungalow ; and I am quite confident that any at- 
tempt to employ medicines would have been quite 
useless, as the woman's powers were utterly exhaust- 
ed, although her body was still warm. The fakir sat 
down at her side, and began to wave his arm over her 
body, at the same time uttering a charm ; and he con- 
tinued this process until she awoke from her insensi- 
bility, which was within a quarter of an hour. ' ' 

Use of Prayer. — Many miraculous cures are record- 
ed, seemingly granted to the voice of fervent prayer. 
.The explanation of such cures requires no miraculous 
interposition. A person actuated by blind faith, by 
prayer concentrates his mind to a degree it is possi- 
ble for him to do by no other method. His magnetic 
power is intensified, and directed on the patient. In 
this manner prayer becomes a magnetic process ; and 
the cure follows necessarily, not from any foreign in- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 123 

terposition, but as an effect of an adequate cause. By 
thus accounting for the benefit sometimes derived 
from prayer, I by no means would be understood as 
referring all so-called miracles to that cause. Super- 
stition, credulity, and design, have their full share in 
their production. 

Magnetic Healing Among Savages.— This magnetic 
power is not unknown even to savage people; and 
they have, although ignorant of the law, complied 
with the essential conditions of magnetic induction. 
Thus the Indians of Oregon produce the trance by 
songs, incantations, and passes of the hand. The Da- 
kotahs made the same manipulations ; and, at a given 
moment, the novice was struck on the breast lightly, 
when he "would fall prostrate on his face, his mus- 
cles rigid, and quivering in every fibre. ' ' 

The trance thus induced was clairvoyant. Capt. 
Carver says that a medicine-man correctly prophesied 
the arrival of a canoe-load of provisions to his starv- 
ing tribe. Such was the faith reposed in his prevision, 
that, at the appointed time, the village assembled to 
welcome the canoe, which arrived exactly at the men- 
tioned hour. 

The magnetic process of cure resembles the trans- 
fusion of blood from healthy veins to those which are 
exhausted. New life and vigor is transferred by 
means of nervous influence. The same may be said of 
spirit magnetism, transfused through mediumistic in- 
fluence. 

Hypnotic Cure.— A "working hypothesis," even if 
set aside by accumulating facts, is of great benefit in 
advancing science, as it affords a centre around which 
the facts may be arranged and deductions made. As 
such the explanation of hypnotism by M, Pierre Janet, 
a professor at Havre, France, has value, and is of itself 
an ingenious fancy. His theory is that there is along 
with the ordinary self, another unconscious, or hidden 
self. It is identical, except in terms, with the theory 
of subconsciousness. This hidden self is capable of 
receiving impressions of shocks, frights, and of all 
outward events, without the cognizance of the out- 
ward self, or consciousness, and retain such impres- 
sions for an indefinite time. This is most apparent in 



124 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

nervous invalids, and Professor Janet, as is usual, 
made his experiments on this class of subjects. 

One of the patients brought to the hospital at Havre 
was a girl of nineteen, Marie by name, subject to reg- 
ular recurring attacks of chill, fever, delirium, terror, 
and convulsions. She had blindness in the left eye, 
that organ having lost its sensibility to light. For 
seven months all the means at the command of the 
medical staff were employed in vain. 

Poor Marie fell into despair, from which nothing 
could arouse her. It was then that Professor Janet 
decided to employ the resources of hypnotism, and 
allow her to diagnose her own case, and his success 
was beyond his expectation. She went into a deep 
trance, and her ''inner consciousness" was questioned, 
and she revealed things unknown to her or to him. 

She informed him that when six years old she had 
been compelled to sleep with a child that had a loath- 
some ulcer on its face, and that the shock had been so 
great that her face had a similar affection, which left 
the right side of her face paralysed and her left eye 
blind. At fourteen she plunged into cold water and 
brought on chills and fever, with delirium. At six- 
teen she had seen a woman crushed to death. These 
scenes and events were constantly being re-enacted by 
the sensitive sub-consciousness. Mixed and blended 
they recurred in her wild delirium, which ended, or 
was accompanied by fever. 

Professor Janet resolved on a course of treatment. 
He threw her into a trance, and made her live her life 
over again from her sixth year. He compelled her to 
sleep with the child, but he suggested that the child 
was not ill but healthful. He led her imagination to 
the cold bath, assuring her that it was health-giving. 
Last he made her see the woman who was crushed by 
falling, but he turned the scene so that instead of be- 
ing killed she was not harmed. Laden with all these 
agreeable and conciliating impressions Marie was 
awakened. Her chill and fever, with delirium, were 
gone, and she was restored to perfect health. 

Here is opened a boundless field for exploration, 
and one which is destined to yield a wonderful har- 
vest. 

The theory advanced may be valuable as a tenta* 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 125 

tive hypothesis to the Scientist, but the Spiritualist re- 
quires no further explanation than that furnished by 
the fundamental principles of Spiritualism. As a 
spiritual being man is subject to spiritual laws and 
forces, which transcend in power the most potent com- 
manded by material science. 

It is amusing to see these efforts along the frontier 
of Spiritual Science, under the name of hypnotism, 
''psychic investigation," etc., claiming as discoveries 
what was well known to Spiritualists years ago, and 
renewing facts already threadbare. 

These outlying fields are the legitimate property of 
Spiritualists who wish to thoroughly comprehend the 
infinite science of Spiritualism. 

Application to Spirit-Communion.— A spirit con- 
trols a medium by the same laws as the mortal mag- 
netiser controls his subject. For this cause, the re- 
sulting phenomena become difficult to distinguish, es- 
pecially when imperfectly presented, and the utmost 
caution is requisite to prevent self-deception. If the 
medium is in the peculiar susceptible condition usual 
to the early stage of development, he will simply re- 
flect the mind of the circle ; and what purports to be a 
spiritual communication will be only an echo of the 
minds of the members. 

The state which renders the medium passive to a 
spirit, renders him passive to mortal influence in the 
same degree ; and, from the similarity of all magnetic 
influences, it is difficult to distinguish spirit from mor- 
tal. Investigators often, in this manner, deceive 
themselves by their own positiveness. They repel the 
approach of celestial messengers, and substitute the 
echoes of their own thoughts. They find contradic- 
tion and confusion, which they complacently refer to 
* ' evil spirits. ' ' 

Nothing can be gained to the cause of truth by mis- 
statement, or exaggerating the importance of one fact 
to the detriment of another. Honest investigators of 
Spiritualism, coming to the task without previous 
knowledge of animal magnetism, refer every phenom- 
enon they meet to spiritual agency, when it is prob- 
able that at least one-half of all they observe is from a 
purely mundane source. So far as healing by laying- 
on of hands is concerned, it has been shown to be of 



126 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ancient date, and explainable by organic laws. There 
is no reason why a magnetiser should not cure disease 
and relieve pain as well as a disembodied spirit ; and 
the probabilities of success are in his favour. If a 
spirit effects such cures, it is unquestionably by and 
through the same means. 

All that has been said at the commencement of this 
chapter in regard to the selfish charlatanism of mag- 
netisers is equally true of spirit-healers. Good, true, 
and honest men there are whose nervous systems are 
strengthened by invisible friends to relieve suffering; 
but Spiritualism is brought to the very dust by the ac- 
tions of others. The worst forms of empiricism, 
quackery, and humbug are loudly advertised and ex- 
tolled in its sacred name. The foul brood that were 
fostered in the field of animal magnetism almost bod- 
ily adopted the new and more startling system, and 
have brought shame to the hearts of true Spiritualists. 

Our object is to draw a sharp line between phenom- 
ena really of spirit-origin and those referable to mor- 
tal action. We may possibly discard many of the 
manifestations alleged to be spiritual ; but the remain- 
der will be all the more valuable. A cause is not 
strengthened but weakened by a mountain of irrele- 
vant facts. The refutation of a few of these is her- 
alded as the overthrow of the cause itself. 

A Safe Rule is to refer nothing to spirits which can 
be accounted for by mortal means. Thus sifted, that 
which remains is of real value to the sceptic and the 
investigator. 

Man in the body is a spirit as well as when freed 
from it. As a spirit he is amenable to the same laws. 
The magnetic state may be self -induced, or induced by 
a mortal or a spirit. This is true of all its forms, som- 
nambulism, trance, or clairvoyance. 

Fully recognizing this fact, it will be seen how ex- 
ceedingly liable the observer is to mistake these influ- 
ences. 

When a circle is formed, and one of its members is 
affected by nervous spasms, it does not necessarily fol- 
low that such member is spiritually controlled. That 
cannot be certainly predicted until a spirit has identi- 
fied its control. It is only by thus testing the phe- 
nomena that a sound and accurate knowledge of spir- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 127 

itual laws can be gained. It may please the marvel- 
lous to refer to one source all manifestations, from the 
involuntary contraction of a muscle, the removing of 
pain by laying-on of hands, the incoherencies of a sen- 
sitive entranced by the overpowering influence of the 
circle, to the genuine impressions of spiritual beings ; 
but it will not satisfy the demand which ultimately 
will seek to co-ordinate all facts and phenomena. 

Practical Application.— If we admit that sensitive- 
ness is a quality possessed by all persons, varying only 
in degree, we open a wide field for discussion, and 
have the explanation of a vast series of psychic phe- 
nomena. Understanding the subject we can guard 
ourselves against disturbing and deleterious influ- 
ences. In business relations how 'constantly we see 
this influence exerted. Men meet to bargain, and one 
overmasters the will of the other, and for the time 
forces conviction. The successful salesman is the one 
having the strongest magnetism. He may under- 
stand his power or he may not, he exerts it in the same 
manner and with equally effective results. By adroit 
suggestion he leads his subject on, and makes a sale 
which would be possible in no other manner. It is the 
silent force of the will rightly directed which deter- 
mines the results in the daily events of life. The high- 
est form of this influence comes from the most intel- 
lectual and spiritual faculties, for truly the force be- 
longs to and is the messenger of spirit. Hence it is 
that healing, by its power, calls on the humane and be- 
nevolent faculties, and, just as these are awakened, is 
its success remarkable. To give one's life energy to 
assuage the pain felt by another, to bear another's in- 
firmities, call for charity and disinterested love. If 
selfish purposes and ambitious thoughts enter the 
mind of the operator they antagonise and defeat his 
success. Thus in families and among intimate friends, 
the magnetic force may be employed to relieve pains 
and ailments of each other. The mother's touch is 
more valuable than the prescription of the physician 
if she knows how to give it. She may destroy this 
influence by rudeness, scolding, and fretfulness, or 
hold her entire household by her magnetic power, 
stimulating to correct conduct, and by silence con- 
demning the wrong; thus, unconsciously to them- 



128 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

selves, lead her children in the paths of correct living. 

The time is not distant when this wonderful force 
will be largely employed in curing disease. The sci- 
entific physician is slowly acknowledging that health 
and disease depend far more on the spirit than on the 
physical body, and when the forces of the will are ex- 
erted through the spirit, the results are often akin to 
the miracuJous. 

If we are all more or less sensitive to the influence 
of our surroundings and to those with whom we come 
in contact, our character is modified and moulded in- 
sensibly. The only means we have at command to 
avoid being injured thereby is our knowledge of such 
influences. 

Thus in business, when others seek by argument and 
plausible suggestion to bring us over to their views, 
we should ask ourselves how far we really are under 
their influence? Whether we are seeing things 
through their eyes or our own? "We are certain they 
are presenting the subject for their own benefit, not 
ours, and it is best, always, in important issues, to de- 
fer conclusions until the consideration can be taken 
away from all disturbing influences. The observance 
of this one rule would avoid nine-tenths of business 
blunders and regretful transactions. Again, if we are 
sensitive, we often at the first contact are attracted 
or repelled by strangers whom we meet for the first 
time. Often, afterwards, we fall under their mag- 
netic influence and change our opinion, to fall into 
their plans, and become the loser thereby. It should 
be held as the changeless rule to accept first impres- 
sions and not be diverted therefrom. 

To arise from the lower plane of business to the 
higher relations of life, even to the highest and most 
responsible, the one carrying with it the most moment- 
ous consequences, that of marriage, how essential it is 
that hypnotism be not mistaken for mental adaptabil- 
ity. We read of instances where a delicate girl, reared 
in refinement and luxury, elopes with a negro, or of a 
rude tramp inveigling a young lady from her home. 
These are extreme cases, but in lesser degree such mis- 
alliances are observable in every walk of life. The fa- 
ble of the marriage of the frog and mouse is constantly 
illustrated by men and women who, shrewd and 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 129 

thoughtful in all other directions, here act as blindly 
as the moth flying into the flame of the lamp. Is it 
that this love is of a lower order, and is more suscept- 
ible to the influence of the passions? Is courtship, as 
usually conducted, for the purpose of gaining accu- 
rate knowledge of each other's character and mutual 
compatibility, before consummating the union which 
carries with it elements of indissolubility, or for fasci- 
nation ? Judging by appearance and results, the lat- 
ter is the object, while it should be avoided as the pri- 
mary cause of misery and the ruin of hope and happi- 
ness in the marriage state. If consideration, apart 
from all interested parties, be counselled as to busi- 
ness matters, a thousand times more should this be im- 
pressed in a relation involving the destiny of life. A 
love — or inclination — which flourishes only in the 
presence of its object, which wanes in its absence, is 
not true, but hypnotic ; and the sooner so determined 
the better for the parties. 

It thus becomes an absolute necessity for those who 
would be themselves, and not fall under the dominat- 
ing will of others, to understand the laws and condi- 
tions of this force. They can then determine if an- 
other is seeking to influence them, and to what degree 
they are under control. If they feel it stealing upon 
them they can go away from it, and not wait until 
they fall a victim. The positive state of resistance 
alone is fatal to such influence. 



CHAPTER VI. 
SPIRIT-ITS PHENOMENA AND LAWS. 



Necessity of Immortality — Eternal Progress of Spirit — What 
Is Spirit? — Spiritual Beings, of What Composed? — What Is 
the Origin of Spirit? — Pre-Existence — Man is a Dual 
Structure of Spirit and Physical Body — The Spirit Retains 
the Faculties — Is There Positive Evidence? — The Magnetic 
State — Testimony of lamblichus; of Tertullian — Experi- 
ments of Esdaille — Magnetic Practice May or May Not Ex- 
haust the Operator — Objects Can Be Magnetized — Som- 
nambulism — Are We More Wise When Asleep Than When 
Awake? 

Necessity of Immortality.— Who, when the great 
thinkers of earth perish, can but exclaim with Goethe, 
when his friend Wieland died, ' ' The destruction of 
such high powers is something which can never, under 
any circumstances, come in question. ' ' An old author 
observes, "The very nerve and sinew of religion is 
hope of immortality." It enters into the fountain 
from which flow the great and exalted deeds ol ? patri- 
ots, martyrs, thinkers, and saints. It elevatos man 
above the shadows of mortal life, showing that there 
is nothing real except in the eternal, and that the grat- 
ification of the delights and passions of the present 
life are unworthy of an immortal being. This belief 
at once lifts the soul out of the slough of selfishness, 
and directs it to magnanimity and virtue. The vari- 
ous religious systems of the world, while based on, 
and seeking to unfold, this grand idea, offer little con- 
solation to the reflecting mind. They yield no broad, 
universal philosophy in which we can feel secure — ab- 
solutely know that we shall exist in the beyond, and 
enjoy the power and beatitude of that existence. This 
is not written in disparagement of any of the count- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 131 

less religious sects. They are not useless in the econ- 
omy of progress, but they have most signally failed in 
producing a philosophical and consistent system of 
immortal life. They all set out with the mistaken 
idea that heaven is to be gained by belief in certain 
creeds, and the admission of certain dogmas ; whereas, 
if man is immortal, immortality is conferred on him 
as the highest aim of creative energy, admitting of no 
mistakes. His spiritual state must surpass his mortal, 
which is its prototype • extending and carrying on to 
consummation, the outline sketched in mortal life. 
We exist — how or why, we cannot determine ; and we 
can no more blot out our existence than that of the 
stars of heaven. What is the logical deduction from 
this fact ? That the emotions, affections, and culture 
of this existence cannot be lost. The least fraction of 
our existence cannot be eliminated or destroyed. 

This knowledge robs death of its sting and the 
grave of its terrors. The eagle soaring in the clouds 
might as well regret its bursting through the confin- 
ing shell, the butterfly that it escaped from its silken 
shroud, as we that death took from us our perishable 
mantles. That the body perishes proves that it is 
only the temporary scaffolding for the building of 
that which is for immortality. We learn that the lad- 
der on which we stand is planted on the world of per- 
ishable things, but its top reaches into the eternity of 
perfection. 

Eternal Progress of Spirit.— What follows? That 
the imperfect attempts of this life will be perfected in 
the next, which is the real, of which this is only the 
shadow. Whether death comes with the first breath 
or after three score years and ten, has not the least in- 
fluence on the growth and final development of spirit. 
Eternal progress is written in the constitution of na- 
ture ; and man, as a spirit, embodies every law of 
progress. A spirit clad in flesh or in the angel realm 
is subject to the same spiritual laws. 

Failure of Religious Theories.— Here all preceding 
theories of the religious sects fail, and the reflecting 
mind pauses in doubt. They fail because they do not 
grasp the wants of the human soul that rebels against 
the doctrine of reward and punishment, asking, Why 
not live on, working out, each one for himself, or her- 



m THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

self, individual destiny ? It feels a deep sense of the 
injustice, of the gigantic, blundering mistake that lies 
in any other idea of the future life. 

Does Spiritualism Meet This Demand?— We can 
onJy determine after a close and careful investigation 
of its facts and philosophy. This research must not 
be with cringing fear of the supernatural and miracu- 
lous, but guided by the unimpeachable evidence of 
positive knowledge. 

We are deeply conscious of our pretensions when 
we attempt the reduction of the entire domain of 
ghosts, witches, demons, familiar spirits, prophecy, — 
in short, the spiritual realm — to the supremacy of law, 
and assert over its conflicting elements the most aus- 
tere positivism. The sciences concentrate here; and 
all are hewn columns and arches in the spiritual tem- 
ple, whose foundations rest on the material world, and 
whose towers pierce the blue empyrean of heaven. 

What Is Spirit?— Ages before the shepherd kings 
laid the foundations of the pyramids, or strove to ex- 
press their innate ideas of the immortal in sphinx and 
tempi e, man asked, * ' What is spirit ? ' ' This question 
has perplexed philosophers in all ages; and, the 
greater their acumen, the more widely have they de- 
serted the path of truth, and consigned themselves to 
the bewildering maze of speculation; and, to-day, the 
churches representing the concrete Spiritualism of the 
past can give no satisfactory answer. 

Spirit, according to the lexicon, is "the intelligent, 
immaterial, immortal nature of man." Can intelli- 
gence exist without materiality? Can nothing think, 
feel, reflect ? You might as well talk of music exist- 
ing in the air, after the destruction of the instrument 
which gave it birth, as of a thought standing out dis- 
robed of matter. Matter, according to this definition, 
is that which is cognisable by form, colour, extension, 
to the senses; spirit, used in contradistinction, is the 
opposite. It has no extension, and is not cognisable 
by the senses. Can a better definition be given of non- 
entity ? 

If there are spiritual beings, the fact of their exist- 
ence proves that they are composed of matter ; for an 
effect cannot spring from nothing. If intelligence 
could exist " detached," that existence could never be 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 133 

made manifest. Through and by matter only or sub- 
stance, its higher form, can any effect occur. 

Spiritual Beings— Of What Composed.— The mate- 
rial of which such beings are composed we may not 
understand. It is different from the matter with 
which we are acquainted. The fault rests with us, for 
it is impossible to comprehend that of which we have 
neither experience nor name. We may call it sub- 
stance. The speculations of a caterpillar on its but- 
terfly state would be as pertinent. Feeding on acrid 
leaves, and, perhaps, never leaving the branches which 
yield it support, how can it comprehend the nectar of 
flowers, and coursing over the plains with the winds ? 
man ! the glory of the immortal as vastly transcends 
the mortal ! Await, grovelling worm ! wind a cocoon 
around you, and the sun in the genial spring will res- 
urrect you a winged spirit of the air. Await, man, 
the hour that enshrouds your mortal body; and the 
warmth of angel-love will awake you to spirit-life. 

What Is the Origin of Spirit?— Theologians inform 
us that it is from God, and at death returns to God 
who gave it. This solution presupposes the eternal 
existence of spirits, that they exist ready made, await- 
ing bodies to be developed that they may inhabit 
them; and that, therefore, the earth-life is a proba- 
tionary state. The history of this theory would be ex- 
tremely interesting, for it is woven through the tissue 
of received theology ; but, in its beginning, we should 
find it a myth, early taking root in the childish minds 
of primitive man. From a conjecture it has become a 
dogma. It ignores the rule of law, and makes the 
birth of every individual a direct miracle. 

Pre-Existence.— Where and how does the spirit ex- 
ist before entering the particular human body from 
which it ascends to heaven or descends to hell, grant- 
ing the foregoing view? A school of philosophers 
have solved the question for themselves by supposing 
that it passes through successive organisms countless 
times. This is a very old idea, and is received at pres- 
ent in almost its original form, as advocated by the 
Pythagorean and Platonic schools, by many Spiritual- 
ists. There are those who think they can distinctly 
recollect passages in their previous existence; who 



134 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

honestly believe that they remember when they ani- 
mated various animals. It was so in ancient time. 

Some draught of Lethe doth await, 

As old mythologies relate, 

The slipping through from state to state. 

But memory is not always silenced. Sometimes 
the potent draught is not sufficiently powerful ; and 
then we decipher the mystic lines of some of our pre- 
vious states : 

And ever something is or seems, 
That touches us with mystic gleams, 
Like glimpses of forgotten dreams. 

Plato regarded this life as only a recognised mo- 
ment between two eternities, the past and the future. 
Innate ideas and the sentiment of pre-existence prove 
our past. To Plato, representative as he was of the 
highest attainments of ancient thought, such might be 
satisfactory evidence ; but to us, with the knowledge 
we possess of physiology and of the brain, they are 
of no value. The double structure and double action 
of the brain, by which impressions are simultaneously 
produced on the mind, fully explain the sentiment of 
pre-existence. For if these impressions, by any 
means, are not simultaneously produced, the mind be- 
comes confused, and the weakest impression is re- 
ferred to the past. [See Prof. Draper's "Physiol- 
ogy," where this point is ably discussed; also his "In- 
tellectual Development of Europe."] 

Beautiful as are these dreams, we are brought back 
from their contemplation to the less pleasing, stern, 
and rugged highlands of science, where, though fewer 
flowers bloom beneath our feet, the ground is firmer, 
and our possessions more sure. These dreams are 
beautiful ; but they are only dreams, undefined actions 
of the mind, whereby it embodies its fancies, and mis- 
takes them for realities. They are as valuable as the 
vagaries produced by opium or hasheesh, and no 
more. We vainly ask, "Why do we lose conscious- 
ness of our states? Is our earth-life a dream-life? 
Can we never know the actual ? ' ' 

The indelibility of ideas and impressions held by 
niental philosophers is a strong argument against pre- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 135 

existence, and it really has no scientific support. It is 
a pleasing speculation, but necessitates a miracle at 
the birth of every human being. A detached spirit, 
though a germ, becomes clad with flesh. There is no 
fixed order or conceivable law by which such an event 
could occur. This mortal state is not preferable ; for 
the spirit constantly desires to escape it. Is it forced 
by God to undergo this metempsychosis ? Does it do 
so from choice ? In such event, the growth of man be- 
comes entirely different from that of animals ; but we 
know that he is subject to the same laws as they are. 
Or shall we say that they, too, are flesh-clad spirits? 
Grant this, and we are lost in an ocean of myth. From 
the animalcule, with its body formed of a single cell, 
to the barnacle-clad leviathan; from entozoa to the 
elephant — all are incarnate spirits. There then is no 
law of development, no unity of organic forms ■ or else 
on this progressive growth and unity a new and extra- 
neous force is exerted, without use or purpose. Cre- 
ation becomes an ever-present miracle ; or, if we refer 
this scheme to fixed laws in the spiritual realm, we but 
transpose the causes we see acting in the physical 
world into the spiritual, when they are at once beyond 
our recognition. 

The individualised man stands before us. He, as a 
mortal being, had a beginning. We date that by years 
at his birth. What reason have we for not dating the 
origin of his spirit at his birth also? If man exists 
for the purpose of the evolution of an immortal spirit, 
the contemporary birth and development of body and 
spirit is a self-evident truth. 

Man Is a Dual Structure of Spirit and Body.— The 
physical body, by its senses, is brought in contact with 
the physical world. It is the basis on which the spir- 
itual rests. Though the spiritual body pertain to the 
spiritual universe, yet the most intimate relations ex- 
ist between these two natures: earthly existence de- 
pends on their harmony, and death is simply their 
separation. 

Such is the doctrine of the Bible ; and it was so in- 
terpreted by the holy fathers. Paul, that profound 
thinker, speaks as follows, in words identical with 
those of Modern Spiritualism: — 

"Some men will say, How are the dead raised, and 



136 ■ THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

with what bodies do they come ? God giveth a body 
as pleaseth Him. So also is the resurrection of the 
dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incor- 
ruption. It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in glorj^. 
It is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power. It is 
sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 

St. Augustine interpreted this doctrine by an anec- 
dote. 

Our brother, Sennardius, well-known to us all as an 
eminent physician, and whom we especially love, who 
is now at Carthage, after having distinguished himself 
at Rome, and with whose active piety and benevolence 
you are well acquainted, could not, nevertheless, as he 
related to us, bring himself to believe in life after 
death. One night there appeared to him, in a dream, 
a radiant youth of noble aspect, who bade him follow 
him; and, as Sennardius obeyed, they came to a city, 
where, on the right, he heard a chorus of most heav- 
enly voices. 

As he desired to know whence this heavenly har- 
mony proceeded, the youth told him that what he 
heard were songs of the blessed ; whereupon he awoke, 
and thought no more of his dream than people usually 
do. On another night the youth appeared to him 
again, and asked him if he knew him ; and Sennardius 
told him all the particulars of his dream, which he 
Avell remembered. 'Then,' said the youth, 'was it 
while sleeping or waking you saw these things V 'I 
was sleeping,' answered Sennardius. 'You are right,' 
replied the youth, ' it was in your sleep that you saw 
these things ; and know, Sennardius, that what you 
see now is also in your sleep. But, if this be so, tell 
me then where is your body V 'In my bed-chamber, ' 
answered Sennardius. ' But know you not, ' continued 
the youth, 'that your eyes, which form a part of your 
body are closed and inactive V 'I know it, ' answered 
he. 'Then,' said the youth, 'with what eyes see you 
these things?' And Sennardius could not answer 
him; and, as he hesitated, the youth spoke again, and 
explained the motive of his question. ' As the eyes of 
your body,' said he, 'which lies now in bed, and sleeps, 
are inactive and useless, and yet, you have eyes where- 
with you see me and those things which I have shown 
you, so, after death, when these bodily organs fail 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 137 

you, you will have a vital power whereby you will 
live, and a sensitive faculty whereby you will per- 
ceive. Doubt therefore, no longer, that there is life 
after death.' ' [See Arcana of Nature," Vol. II.] 

This episode illustrates a great truth. Man is dual, 
— a spirit and a body blended into a unit: the body 
taking cognizance of the spiritual world through its 
spiritual perceptions. The spirit is the companion of 
the body ; and as long as the two remain united it per- 
ceives the relation of the external world through and 
by aid of the corporeal senses. The spirit is so con- 
cealed by the physical body, and intimately blended 
with it, that its existence is perceived with difficulty. 
| The threefold division of body, soul, and spirit, is of 
very ancient date. Philo represents man as a three- 
fold being, having a rational soul, an animal soul, and 
a body. As the term ' ' soul ' ' represents nothing but a 
fancy, it is here discarded.] 

The Spirit Retains the Faculties It Possessed While 
on Earth.— -Plutarch well observes, in the strict spirit, 
of inductive philosophy, that, if demons and protect- 
ing spirits are disembodied souls, we ought not to 
doubt that those spirits inhabiting the body will pos- 
sess the same faculties they now enjoy, since we have 
no reason to suppose that any new faculties are con- 
ferred at the period of dissolution; such faculties 
must be considered as inherent, though obscured or 
latent. The sun does not for the first time shine when 
it breaks from behind a Cloud; so the spirit, when it 
first throws aside the body, does not then acquire the 
faculties which are supposed to characterise it, but 
they are then only freed from the obscurations of the 
mortal state, as the sun is from the fetters of the 
cloud. 

The physical body evolves the spiritual being. In 
individualised spirit, creative nature culminates. In- 
dividualization of spirit can take place in no other 
manner. The most exalted angel once was clothed in 
flesh ; and through the flesh only can such existence be 
obtained. 

Is There Positive Evidence?— Are there facts to 
sustain these statements ? Can it be proved that the 
spirit exists freed from the physical body? Aside 
from the facts of spirit-intercourse, the question can 



138 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

be answered by the phenomena presented while the 
spirit is confined in the body. Spirit-communion is 
the great and all-conclusive proof ; but there is a bor- 
derland, over which we can journey to that ultima 
thule of psychological philosophy. 

In this vast and pathless domain we tread the boun- 
daries between material and spiritual. We gain 
glimpses, as it were of the energy of the refined prin- 
ciples which actuate and vivify the world, and yet re- 
main unseen and unknown. Here we reach the bor- 
ders of the forces which control materiality, and as 
yet are not understood. 

Science has recorded scarcely a fact to assist the ex- 
plorer. Scientists scoff and sneer at those who rise 
above the husks of their technicalities. What can 
they teach? Nothing. They are content with em- 
piricisms. They attempt a solution of spiritual rela- 
tions ! they deny their existence ! They fail in the solu- 
tion of much less difficult problems. Why opium or 
tobacco or alcohol produce their several effects ; why 
certain sounds are agreeable and others disagreeable ; 
why certain forms are pleasing and others the reverse, 
they know not ; and so intent are they with making ac- 
curate record of the facts that they overlook the ob- 
ject for which these facts stand. 

Between wakefulness, and the deep unconsciousness 
preceding death, there is a gradual transition. The 
interval has been divided by authors into stages or de- 
grees, but in an arbitrary manner, and without sub- 
serving any end, except to confuse the minds of their 
readers. There are no lines of demarcation between 
the various hypothetical divisions. The magnetic 
state, as manifested in sleep, becomes somnambulism, 
or deepens into clairvoyance. The phenomena pre- 
sented by these states or degrees, are resultants of one 
common law, and are intricately blended. 

The Magnetic State in its approach, may, perchance, 
be confounded with natural sleep. The spirit is dor- 
mant and unconscious. When it deepens the mind 
awakens in a new spiritual life; its faculties become 
exalted, and its sensitiveness intensified. A distin- 
guished writer lucidly describes this state: — 

"Sometimes, however, there is said to supervene a 
coma; at others, exaltation, depression, or some anom- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 139 

alous modification of sensibility; and occasionally a 
state somewhat approaching to that of reverie, where- 
in the individual, although conscious, feels incapable 
of independent exertion, and spellbound, as it were, to 
a particular train of thought or feeling. The occur- 
rence of muscular action and of muscular rigidity is 
described as taking place in some instances to a 
greater or lesser extent. These results are said to 
constitute the simpler phenomena of mesmerism. We 
shall illustrate them by some extracts from accredited 
writers upon the subject. 

"In this peculiar state of sleep the surface of the 
body is sometimes acutely sensitive, but more fre- 
quently the sense of feeling is absolutely annihilated. 
The jaws are firmly locked, and resist every effort to 
wrench them open ; the joints are often rigid and the 
limbs inflexible; and not only is the sense of feeling, 
but the senses of smell, hearing, and sight also are so 
deadened to all external impressions that no pungent 
odour, loud report, or glare of light can excite them in 
the least degree. The body may be pinched, pricked, 
lacerated, or burned; fumes of concentrated liquid 
ammonia may be passed up the nostrils ; the loudest 
reports suddenly made close to the ear; dazzling and 
intense light may be thrown upon the pupil of the eye ; 
yet so profound is the physical state of lethargy that 
the sleeper will remain undisturbed and insensible to 
tortures that in the waking state would be intoler- 
able/' 

Testimony of Iamblichus.— Iamblichus, a philoso- 
pher of the Alexandrian school (4th century A. D.), 
thus describes the state that philosophers, by the prac- 
tice of theurgy, could arrive at; showing a perfect un- 
derstanding of what is now called superior or mag- 
netic. "The senses were in a sleeping state. The the- 
urgist had no command of his faculties, no conscious- 
ness of what he said or did. He was insensible to fire 
or any bodily injury. Carried by a divine impulse, he 
went through impassable places without knowing 
where he was. A divine illumination took full posses- 
sion of the man: absorbed all his faculties, motions, 
and senses, — making him speak what he did not un- 
derstand, or rather seem to speak it; for he was, in 
fact, merely the minister or instrument of the gods 



140 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

who possessed him." A more correct description of 
the interior state cannot be found in any work on this 
subject. 

Tertullian describes one of the inspired sisters of 
the Montanists, a sect of the second century believing 
in the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

"There is a sister among us endowed with the gift 
of revelation by an ecstacy of spirit, which she suffers 
in church during the time of divine service. She con- 
verses with angels, and sometimes also with the Lord. 
She sees and hears mysteries, knows the hearts of 
some, and prescribes medicines for those who need 
them." 

The senses in the magnetic state are more pro- 
foundly insensible than in sleep. It has, in conse- 
quence, often been employed to alleviate pain; and 
unconsciously by every nurse and physician. Facts 
are here introduced, more for the purpose of illustra- 
tion than proof, though they serve both purposes. 
Those first produced have a particular significance as 
they relate to patients who did not understand the 
manipulations — patients severed by race and speech 
from the distinguished physician who relates them. 

Experiments in India by Esdaille.— His first experi- 
ment was made on Madhab Kanra, who was suffering 
intensely from a severe surgical operation. In three- 
quarters of an hour, after he began making passes 
over him, he exclaimed, "I was his father, and his 
mother had given him life again." "The same pro- 
cess was persevered in ; and in about an hour he began 
to gape, said he must sleep, that his senses were gone, 
and his replies became incoherent. He opened his 
eyes when ordered, but said he only saw smoke, and 
could distinguish no one. His eyes were quite lustre- 
less ; and the lids opened heavily. All appearance of 
pain now disappeared ; his hands were crossed on his 
breast instead of being pressed on the groins ; and his 
countenance showed the most perfect repose. He now 
took no notice of our questions; and I called loudly 
on him by name without attracting any notice. 

"I now pinched him without disturbing him; and 
then, asking for a pin in English, I desired my assist- 
ant to watch him narrowly, and drove it into the small 
of his back. It produced no effect whatever ; and my 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 141 

assistant repeated it at intervals in different places as 
uselessly. 

"Fire was then applied to his knee without his 
shrinking in the least; and liquid ammonia, that 
brought tears into our eyes in a moment, was inhaled 
some minutes without causing an eyelid to quiver. 
This seemed to have revived him a little, as he moved 
his head shortly afterward; and I asked him if he 
wanted a drink. He only gaped in reply, and I took 
the opportunity to give, slowly, a mixture of ammonia 
so strong that I could not bear to taste it. This he 
drank like milk, and gaped for more. As the 'experi- 
mentum crucis, ' I lifted his head, and placed his face, 
which was directed to the ceiling all this time, in 
front of a full light, opened his eyes, one after the 
other, but without producing any effect upon the iris. 
His eyes were exactly like an amaurotic person 's, and 
all noticed their lack-lustre appearance. We were all 
now convinced that total insensibility of all the senses 
existed. ' ' 

Magnetic Practice May or May Not Exhaust the 
Operator. — After operating on patients the mag- 
netiser may or may not feel exhausted, depending on 
his magnetic endurance; but the most enduring will, 
after a continuous exercise in treating disease, be- 
come depressed, and temporarily weaken in power. 
If the patient is very susceptible, and the operator the 
reverse, he will be able to induce important results 
without any effect on himself. If, on the contrary, he 
be impressible, he will suffer from exhaustion. This 
will be still greater if he treat a disease under which 
he is himself suffering. If scrofulous, and he treat 
a case of that kind, he will surely aggravate his own 
malady; no degree of positiveness can avail against 
this danger. Every successive operation renders him 
more susceptible, and liable to imbibe the disease of 
his patient; in other words he loses his resisting 
power. 

To produce the most striking and beneficial results, 
the operator should be in vigorous health, and in a 
highly positive state. After operating, the influence 
should be thrown off by bathing the hands, and exer- 
cise in the open air. Those who are suffering from 



142 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

disease should never attempt to heal others by mag- 
netism. 

Objects Can Be Magnetised.— Deleuze first pro- 
nounced the fact that objects can be magnetically 
charged, and that, when sent to distant patients, they 
will produce the same effect as though the operator 
were present. This has given rise to repeated charges 
that it was mere imagination ; but it is, rather, a beau- 
tiful illustration of the law of magnetic transfer. 
Some substances absorb and retain this magnetism 
better than others; and there is a wonderful cor- 
respondence between the mental and physical worlds, 
by which every emotion, passion, and faculty of the 
mind has its analogue in the material world. This 
analogy produces the strange and seemingly freakish 
regard we have for different substances. The pre- 
cious stones, noble metals, amulets, etc., assume scien- 
tific relations, for they represent certain faculties. 
Silver, gold, diamonds, and flowers are admired be- 
cause of the fundamental relations they sustain to the 
sympathies of the brain. 

Somnambulism.— The mind of the sleep-walker is in 
a highly sensitive condition, being able to read the 
thoughts of others, however distant ; reading writing 
or print placed behind his head, and performing the 
most difficult feats of clairvoyants or magnetised sub- 
jects. 

In this state the spirit becomes in a measure inde- 
pendent of its corporeal form, and infinitely expand- 
ed. The senses are no longer windows of the soul; 
but the mind sees and hears by some entirely new 
method, and becomes en rapport with the mental at- 
mosphere of the world. 

The following facts are related by the philosopher 
Fishbough: — 

"When a boy, residing in Easton, Pa., we for a time 
roomed with a young man who was much subject to fits 
of somnambulism. One one occasion, he was sud- 
denly aroused to a consciousness of his situation, and, 
as he informed us, for a moment, before he was re- 
stored entirely to his natural state, it was as 'light as 
day, '-and he could see minute objects with the utmost 
distinctness, though a moment afterwards he was 
obliged to grope his way in darkness to find his bed, ' ' 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 143 

Sunderland, in " Pantheism, " records a case of a 
Mr. Collins, of East Bloomfield, N. Y., "who, while 
asleep, would often arise, and write poetry and long 
letters in a room perfectly dark. He would make his 
lines straight, cross his t's, dot his i's, and make it 
perfectly legible. He seemed to be clairvoyant when 
in this state, and would often tell what a sister and 
brother-in-law were doing, and where they were, when 
several hundred miles off. . . His statements, though 
many and often, were always found correct. This 
was in 1827." 

The following case, which has received extensive 
publicity in the journals of the day, is related on the 
authority of the archbishop of Bordeaux. A young 
clergyman was in the habit of rising from his bed and 
writing his sermons while in his sleep. Whenever he 
finished a page he would read it aloud and correct it. 
Once in altering the expression, "ce devin enfant," 
he substituted the word "adorable" for "devin;" 
and, observing that the "adorable" (commencing 
with a vowel) required that "ce" before it should be 
changed into "cet," he accordingly added the "t. " 
While he was writing "the archbishop held a piece of 
paste board under his chin, to prevent him from see- 
ing the paper on which he was writing; but he wrote 
on, not at all incommoded. The paper on which he was 
writing was then removed and another piece substi- 
tuted; but he instantly perceived the change. He 
also wrote pieces of music in this state, with his eyes 
closed. The words were under the music, and once 
were too large, and not placed exactly under the cor- 
responding notes. He soon perceived the error, blot- 
ted out the part, and wrote it over again with great 
exactness. ' ' 

The case of Jane C. Rider, known as the Springfield 
somnambulist, created, some years ago, much wonder 
and speculation among intelligent persons acquainted 
with the facts. I find the following account preserved 
in my note-book, with a reference to the "Boston Med- 
ical and Surgical Journal," Vol xi., Numbers 4 and 5 
(which T have not now on hand), for more particular 
information. Miss Rider "would walk in her sleep, 
attend to domestic duties in the dark, and with her 
eyes bandaged ; would read in a dark room, and with 



144 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

cotton filled in her eye-sockets, and a thick black silk 
handkerchief tied over the whole. These things were 
witnessed by hundreds of respectable persons. She 
learned, without difficulty, to play at backgammon 
while in this state, and would generally beat her an- 
tagonist ; though in her normal state she knew noth- 
ing about the game, and remembered nothing what- 
ever which occurred during her fits. ' ' 

A young lady, while at school, succeeded in her 
Latin exercises without devoting much time or atten- 
tion apparently to the subject. At length the secret 
to her easy progress was discovered. She was ob- 
served to leave her room at night, and taking her 
class-book, she proceeded to a certain place on the 
banks of a small stream, where she remained but a 
short time, and then returned to the house. In the 
morning she was invariably unconscious of what had 
occurred during the night ; but a glance at the lesson 
of the day usually resulted in the discovery that it 
was already quite as familiar to her mind as house- 
hold words. 

Are We More Wise When Asleep Than When 
Awake? — How can we else account for the wonderful 
feats and extensive knowledge of the somnambulist? 
We dwell more exclusively on the sleep-walker than 
on the magnetised subject, because he is free from the 
charge that might be preferred against the latter, of 
being influenced by the will of an operator. He is 
free from bias; and whatever he accomplishes pro- 
ceeds from himself and represents the workings of his 
own spirit. 



CHAPTER VII. 
SPIRIT— ITS PHENOMENA AND LAWS. 



Magnetism Intensifies the Spiritual Perceptions — Clairvoy- 
ance — Applied to the Realm of Spirit — The Seeress of Pre- 
vorst — Testimony of Swedenborg — Does the Spirit of the 
Clairvoyant Leave the Body? — Double Presence — Clairau- 
dience — Prophecy — The Law by Which Predictions Can 
Be Made — Impressibility by Words and Ideas — The 
Trance: Its Responsibility — Hypnotism and Crime — Hyp- 
notism or Mesmerism as a Curative Agent — Condition of 
the Freed Spirit — Have Animals Existence in Spirit Life? 
— Is the Distinction of Sex Preserved, and Is There Marri- 
age in Heaven? — The Spiritual Organism — The Most Sub- 
tile Form of Matter — An Erroneous Hypothesis — What Is 
the Character of the Matter Which Forms the Spirit Or- 
ganism? — Progress of the Elements — Spiritual Elements 
Realities — Spirits of Animals — Spiritual Attraction and 
Repulsion — Why Cannot Spirits Be Seen? — Why Seek Im- 
mortal Existence Outside of Physical Matter? — Immortal- 
ity Obtained Without Death — Origin of the Spiritual Body 
— How Far the Body Affects the Spirit. 

Magnetism Intensifies the Spiritual Perceptions.— 

When the body is inanimate; when the sluggish 
flow of the blood is the only indication of life; when 
the nerves have lost their sensation and the senses are 
dead, the somnambulist, like the clairvoyant, revels in 
a world of his own, and finds his new senses vastly su- 
perior to those that are dormant. 

The materialist says, "Look! here is an eye. It is 
the organ of sight. Images are formed on the retina 
of external objects. Here is an ear; it is adjusted to 
the waves of sound." Images are formed on the 
retina after death, and there is no sight. They are 
formed equally well in a camera. Waves of air vibrate 
on the ear, and yield no sound. The eye, on the other 
hand, may be destroyed, its optic nerves withered, 



146 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

and still sight remain; the ear destroyed, and yet 
hearing: remain — as illustrated by clairvoyance and 
clairaudience. There is something behind and be- 
yond all these external organs, which sees, hears, and 
feels. Millions of vibrations reach it through the sen- 
sitive brain from, the external world— waves of light, 
heat, magnetism, electricity, nerve-aura, and sound; 
but where the physical avenues are all closed in a som- 
nambulistic or clairvoyant sleep it rises above them 
all. In that pure region the mind is most active, and 
grasps ideas as though robed in light, and becomes 
en rapport with the mental atmosphere of the uni- 
verse. 

Clairvoyance is a sensitive condition or state of im- 
pressibility as often accompanying perfect health as 
diseased conditions. 

It is the clear seeing of the spirit, and to say that it 
is caused by the disease which allows it to be mani- 
fested is confounding cause with effect. It is a posi- 
tive faculty of spirit manifested both during sleep and 
wakefulness, appearing in different individuals with 
varying degrees of lucidity. 

' ' In passing 4nto this state the extremities become 
cold, the brain congested, the vital powers sink, a 
dreamy unconsciousness steals over the faculties of 
the external mind. There is a sensation of sinking or 
floating. After a time the perceptions become inten- 
sified; we cannot say the senses are intensified, for 
they are of the body, which, for the time, is insensible. 

"The mind sees without the physical organs of vis- 
ion, hears without the organs of hearing, and feeling 
becomes a refined consciousness, which brings it en 
rapport with the intelligence of the world. The more 
death-like the conditions of the body the more lucid 
the mind, which for the time jOwes it no fealty. 

''If, as there is every reason to believe, clairvoyance 
depends on the unfolding of the spirit's perception, 
then the extent of that unfolding marks the degree of 
its perfection." 

This depends on the unfolding of the spiritual per- 
ceptions, and the degree of unfolding marks its worth- 
fulness. The state is the same, differing only in de- 
gree, whether observed in the pythia of Delphos, the 
visions of St. John, the trance of Mohammed, the epi- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 147 

demic catalepsy of religions revivals, or the illumina- 
tion of Swedenborg or Davis. The revelations made 
have also general resemblance, often discarding the 
influence of education and surrounding circumstances, 
arid so strongiy are they colored by these that they 
must always be taken as exceedingly fallible. 

There is a tendency to make objective the subject- 
ive ideas acquired by education, as visions of Chris- 
tians are of heaven and Christ ; of Mohammedans, Mo- 
hammed and Houri, and as dreams reflect the waking 
thoughts. Yet there is a profound condition which 
sets this entirely aside, and divests the spirit of all 
physical trammels, and introduces it to the world of 
spirits. This is called independent clairvoyance, be- 
cause it is independent of the senses. Light is not es- 
sential for seeing, matter is perfectly transparent, and 
space is eliminated. The clairvoyant is able to read 
the thoughts of persons present or absent, decipher 
the contents of sealed letters, describe places where he 
has never been, retrospect the lives of strangers, and 
forecast the future. 

Applied to the Realm of Spirit.— Thus applied the 
testimony is of profound interest. The Seeress of Pre- 
vorst may be taken as illustrative, and her revelations 
have a greater significance from the extreme purity 
and beauty of her spiritual life. 

The Seeress of Prevorst.— "Unfortunately, my life 
is now so constituted that my soul, as well as my 
spirit, sees into the spiritual world, — which is, how- 
ever, indeed, upon the earth ; and I see them not only 
singly, but frequently in multitudes and of different 
kinds, and many departed souls. 

"I see many with whom I come into approximation, 
and others who come to me; with whom I converse, 
and who remain near me for months. I see them at 
various times by day and night, whether I am alone or 
in company. I am perfectly awake at the time, and 
am not sensible of any circumstance or sensation that 
calls them up. I see them alike, whether I am strong 
or weak, plethoric or in a state of inanition, glad or 
sorrowful, amused or otherwise, and I cannot dismiss 
them. Not that they are always with me; but they 
come at their own pleasure, like mortal visitors, and 
equally whether I am in a spiritual or corporeal state 



148 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

at the time. When I am in my calmest. and most 
healthy sleep, they awaken me : I know not how ; but I 
feel that I am awakened by them, and that I should 
have slept on had they not come to my bedside. I ob- 
serve frequently, that, when a ghost visits me by 
night, those who sleep in the same room with me, are, 
by their dreams, made aware of its presence. They 
speak afterwards of the apparition they saw in their 
dream, though I have not breathed a syllable on the 
subject to them. Whilst the ghosts are with me, I see 
and hear everything around me as usual, and can 
think of other subjects; and, though I can avert my 
eyes from them, it is difficult for me to do it. I feel in 
a sort of magnetic rapport with them. They appear 
to me like a thin cloud, that one could see through, 
which, however, I cannot do. I never observed that 
they threw any shadow. I see them more clearly by 
sunlight or moonlight than in the dark ; but, whether 
I could see them in absolute darkness, I do not know. 
If any object comes between me and them they are 
hidden from me. I cannot see them with closed eyes, 
nor when I turn my face from them : but I am so sen- 
sible of their presence that I could designate the exact 
spot they are standing upon; and I can hear them 
speak although I stop my ears. . . . The forms of the 
good spirits appear bright ; those of the evil, dusky. 

"Their gait is like the gait of the living, only that 
the better spirits seem to float, and the evil ones tread 
heavier, so that their footsteps may sometimes be 
heard, not by me alone, but by those who are with me. 
They have various ways of attracting attention by 
other sounds besides speech ; and this faculty they ex- 
ercise frequently on those who can neither see them 
nor hear their voices. These sounds consist in sigh- 
ing, knocking, noises as of the throwing of sand or 
gravel, rustling of a paper, rolling of a ball, shuffling 
as in slippers, etc. They are also able to move heavy 
articles, and to open and shut doors, although they 
can pass through them unopened or through the walls. 
I observe that the darker a spectre is the stronger is 
his voice, and the more ghostly powers of making 
noises, etc., he seems to have. The sounds they pro- 
duce are by means of the air, and the nerve-spirit, 
which is still in them. I never saw a ghost when he 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 149 

was in the act of producing any sound except speech, 
so that I conclude they cannot do it visibly; neither 
have I ever seen them in the act of opening or shutting 
a door, only directly afterwards. They move their 
mouths in speaking; and their voices are various as 
those of the living. They cannot answer me all that I 
desire. Wicked spirits are more willing or able to 
do this ; but I avoid conversing with them." 

Testimony of Swedenborg.— Swedenborg also re- 
lates similar facts. 

"I have conversed with many, after their decease, 
with whom I was acquainted during their life in the 
body ; and such conversation has been of long contin- 
uance — sometimes for months, sometimes for a whole 
year — and with as clear and distinct a voice, but in- 
ternal, as with friends in the world. The subject of 
our discourse has sometimes turned on the state of 
man after death; and they have greatly wondered 
that no one in the life of the body knows, or believes, 
that he is to live in such a manner after the life of the 
body, when, nevertheless, it is a continuation of life, 
and that of such a nature, that the deceased passes 
from, an obscure life into a clear and distinct one, and 
they who are in faith towards the Lord into a life 
more and more distinct, They have desired me to ac- 
quaint their friends on earth that they were alive, and 
to write to them an account of their states, as I have 
often told them many things respecting their friends ; 
but my reply was, that if I should speak to them, or 
write to them, they would not believe, but would call 
my information mere fancy, and would ridicule it, 
asking for signs or miracles before they should be- 
lieve; and thus I should be exposed to their derision. 
And that the things here declared are true, few, per- 
haps, will believe ; for men deny, in their hearts, the 
existence of spirits, and they who do not deny such 
existence are yet very unwilling to hear that anyone 
can converse with spirits. Such a faith respecting 
spirits did not at all prevail in ancient times, but does 
at this day, when men wish, by reasonings of the brain, 
to explore what spirits are, whom, by definitions and 
suppositions, they deprive of every sense; and, the 
more learned they wish to be, the more they do this." 



150 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Does the Spirit of the Clairvoyant Leave the Body? 

—Yes, in proportion as the highest spiritual state is 
attained, even to complete separation, which is death. 
The facts cited relative to double presence may be in- 
troduced here also. 

An interesting magnetic treatment is detailed by 
Cahagnet in his "Celestial Telegraph," wherein he 
sets one clairvoyant to watch another. 

"I perceive that A dele purposes entering into the 
ecstatic state : I make up my mind to try a decisive ex- 
periment, and I leave her to her will. I forthwith 
send Bruno to sleep, put him en rapport with her, and 
beg him to follow her as far as possible, recommend- 
ing him not to be alarmed, and to warn me only if he 
should see danger. I wished to be assured by myself 
of the pretended dangers of ecstacy. Frequently had 
A dele told me that she had been on the point of not 
coming back to re-enter her body ; and, as I thought 
that she only wanted to alarm me, I wished to know 
what opinion to come to. After the lapse of a quarter 
of an hour, Bruno exclaimed in great alarm, 'I have 
lost sight of her.' She was apparently dead, and a 
mirror placed to her lips was not tarnished. ' ' 

Double Presence. — This is another class of phenom- 
ena of unique character, when the spirit is seen and 
recognized at a distance from the body. The peculiar 
state which enables a person in that locality to per- 
ceive a spirit on its arrival is simply one of delicate 
impressibility. The freedom of the spirit from the 
body is clairvoyance, and any clairvoyant is capable 
of executing this "double presence," so mysterious to 
old school psychological writers. 

"One of the most remarkable cases of this kind is 
that recorded by Jung Stilling, of a man, who, about the 
year 1740, resided in the neighbourhood of Philadel- 
phia, in the United States. His habits were retired, 
and he spoke little. He was grave, benevolent, and 
pious ; and nothing was known against his character, 
except that he had the reputation of possessing secrets 
that were not altogether lawful. Many extraordi- 
nary stories were told of him, and, among the 
rest, the following: The wife of a ship captain, whose 
husband was on a visit to Europe and Africa, and 
from whom she had been long without tidings, over- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 151 

Whelmed with anxiety for his safety, was induced to 
address herself to this person. Having listened to her 
stor}^ he begged her to excuse him for a while, when 
he would bring her the intelligence required. He 
then passed into an inner room, and she sat herself 
down to wait; but, his absence continuing longer than 
she expected, she became impatient, thinking he had 
forgotten her; and so, softly approaching the door, 
she peeped through some aperture, and, to her sur- 
prise, beheld him lying on a sofa, as motionless as if he 
were dead. She, of course, did not think it advisable 
to disturb him, but waited his return, when he told 
her that her husband had not been able to write to her 
for such and such reasons ; but that he was in a coffee- 
house in London, and would very shortly be at home 
again. Accordingly he arrived; and, as the lady 
heard from him that the causes of his unusual silence 
had been precisely those alleged, she was desirous of 
ascertaining the truth of the rest of the information. 
In this she was gratified, for he no sooner set his eyes 
on the magician than he said he had seen him before, 
on a certain day, in a coffee-house in London. ' ' 

Thought Projection.— An example of direct thought 
projection (another name for the same phenomenon), 
having greater significance from the high characters 
of the persons interested, is that furnished by Jessie 
Fremont, wife of General Fremont. He had started 
on his famous expedition to mark out a trail across the 
plains and over the mountains to California. In her 
own words: 

"I was so used to my brave husband's safe returns 
from every danger that I had become fairly reason- 
able about his journeys, and my wise, loving father 
took care that I should have my mind and time use- 
fully filled. We could not look to hear from Mr. Fre- 
mont on the unoccupied line of country he was ex- 
ploring that winter of 1853-54; he must first reach the 
coast at San Francisco, and our first news must come 
by the Isthmus route of Panama ; at the earliest, mid- 
summer. But in midwinter, without any reason, I be- 
came possessed by the conviction that he was starv- 
ing; nor could any effort reason this away. No such 
impression had ever come to me before, although more 
than once dreadful suffering, and even deaths from 



152 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

starvation, had befallen his companions during other 

expeditions. 

"This time it came upon me as a fact I could not 
turn from. It fairly haunted me for nearly two 
weeks, until, young and absolutely healthy as I was, 
it made a physical effect on me. Sleep and appetite 
were broken up, and in spite of my father's and my 
own efforts to dissipate it by reasoning, by added 
open-air life, nothing dulled my sense of increasing 
suffering from hunger to Mr. Fremont and his party. 

"This weight of fear was lifted from me as sud- 
denly as it had come." 

Of how she was assured of his safety she thus nar- 
rates : 

"The fire was getting low, and I went into the ad- 
joining dressing-room to bring in more wood. It was 
an old-fashioned big fireplace, and the sticks were too 
large to grasp with the hand; as I half -knelt, bal- 
ancing the long sticks on my left arm, a hand rested 
lightly on my left shoulder, and Mr. Fremont's voice, 
pleased and laughing, whispered my name. There 
was no sound beyond the quick-whispered name — no 
presence, only the touch— that was all. But I knew 
(as one knows in dreams) that it was Mr. Fremont, 
gay, and intending to startle my sister, whose ready 
scream always freshly amused him. 

"Silently I went back into the girls' room with the 
wood, but before I could speak, my sister, looking up 
to take a stick from me, gave a great cry and fell on 
the rug. ' ' 

So thoroughly was Mrs. Fremont convinced of the 
safety of her husband that she regained her lost spir- 
its, and that night slept soundly and with contented 
peace. When General Fremont returned the follow- 
ing May, it was found that all the time his wife was in 
such distress about him, his party were struggling 
through the snow, on the verge of starvation, and on 
the night she received her intelligence, they had 
reached a human settlement, and were treated with 
greatest kindness. At the very moment she felt his 
presence he had completed the rounds of inspection, 
and, finding all his men comfortable, had gone to his 
own pleasant room. It was then his thoughts of 
safety were distinctly felt by his wife half across the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 153 

continent, and so strongly that they were not only 
heard, but assumed form to be felt and seen. 

Lydia Maria Childs, in the Atlantic Monthly, re- 
lates the following remarkable experience of Harriet 
Hosmer, as personally given by that noted sculptor, to 
that well-known writer. 

"Let me tell you a singular circumstance that hap- 
pened to me in Rome. An Italian girl, named Rosa, 
was in my employ for a long time, but was finally 
obliged to return to her mother on account of con- 
firmed ill health. We were mutually sorry to part, 
for we liked each other. When I took my customary 
excursion on horseback I frequently called to see her. 
On one of these occasions I found her brighter than I 
had seen her for some time past. I had long relin- 
quished hopes of her recovery, but there was nothing 
in her appearance that gave me the impression of im- 
mediate danger. I left with the expectation of call- 
ing to see her many times. During the remainder of 
the dajr I was busy in my studio, and do not recollect 
that Rosa was in my thoughts after I parted with her. 
I retired to rest in good health, and in a quiet frame 
of mind. But I awoke from a sound sleep with an 
oppressive feeling that some one was in the room. I 
wondered at the sensation, for it was entirely new to 
me, but in vain I tried to dispel it. I peered beyond 
the curtains of my bed, but could distinguish no object 
in the darkness. 

"Finding it impossible to sleep, I longed for day- 
light to dawn, that I might rise and pursue my cus- 
tomary avocations. It was not long before I w* able 
to distinguish the furniture in my room, and soon 
after I heard, in the apartments below, familiar noises 
of servants opening windows and doors. An old clock 
proclaimed the hour. I counted one, two, three, four, 
five, and resolved to arise immediately. My bed was 
partially screened by a long curtain, looped up at the 
side. As I raised my head from the pillow, Rosa 
looked inside the curtain and smiled at me. The idea 
of anything supernatural did not occur to me. Sim- 
ply surprised, I exclaimed, 'Why, Rosa, how came you 
here when you are so ill?' 'I am well now.' With 
no other thought than that of greeting her joyfully, 
I sprung out of bed, There was no Rosa there ! I 



154 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 



•:•• 



moved the curtain, thinking she might, perhaps, have 
playfully hidden behind its folds. The same feeling 
induced me to look into the closet. The sight of her. 
had come so suddenly, that, in the first moment of sur- 
prise and bewilderment, I did not reflect that the door 
was locked. When I became convinced that there was 
no one in the room but myself, I recollected that fact, 
and thought I must have seen a vision. 

''At the breakfast table I said to the old lady with 
whom I boarded, 'Rosa is dead.' 

' ' ' What do you mean by that ? ' she inquired. ' You 
told me that she seemed better than common when 
yon called to see her yesterday.' 

"I related the occurrences of the morning, and told 
her that I had a strong impression Rosa was dead. I 
summoned a messenger, and sent him to inquire how 
Rosa did. He returned with the answer that 'She 
died this morning at five o'clock.' " 

Probably Lord Erskine and Lord Brougham were 
as free from what is generally regarded as ' ' supersti- 
tion" as any of that long line of chancellors who have 
adorned the woolsack, and helped to benefit mankind. 
Yet both of them bear testimony to the existence of 
apparitions, or some communication with the inhabit- 
ants of another world, as the following tales will de- 
clare ; and which I purposely relate in the very words 
of their distinguished tale-bearers. 

The circumstances of Lord Chancellor Erskine 's in- 
tercourse with an apparition, as related by himself, 
are given in Lady Morgan's Book of the Boudoir, as 
follows: — 

"When I was a very young man, I had been for 
some time absent from Scotland. On the morning of 
my arrival in Edinburgh, as I was coming out from a 
bookshop, I met our old family butler. He looked 
greatly changed, pale, wan and shadowy as a ghost. 
'Eh! old boy,' I said, 'what brings you here?' He 
replied, ' To meet your honour, and solicit your inter- 
ference with my lord, to recover a sum due to me, 
which the steward, at the last settlement, did not pay. ' 
Struck by his looks and manners, I bade him follow 
me to the bookseller's shop, into whose shop I stepped 
back ; but when I turned round to speak to him he had 
vanished, 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 155 

"I remembered that his wife carried on some little 
trade in the Old Town ; I remembered even the house 
and flat she occupied, which I had often visited in my 
boyhood. Having made it out, I found the old woman 
in widow's mourning. Her husband had been dead 
for some months, and had told her on his death-bed, 
that my father's steward had wronged him of some 
money, but that when Master Tom returned, he would 
see her righted." 

Lord Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of England, 
in his recently published autobiography, records the 
following apparition story, as having been seen by 
himself. It refers to an early period of his life, at the 
commencement of this present century, when he was 
on a tour in the north of Europe. 

"At Kongelf, near Gottenberg, we stopped to eat 
some cold provisions, and then continued our journey 
in the dark. The carriage being shut, we were not 
actually frozen, but the road was execrably rough, 
and we went at a foot's pace; besides, it was more 
hilly than is usual in Sweden. At one in the morning, 
arriving at a decent inn, we decided to stop for the 
night, and found a couple of comfortable rooms. 

"Here a most remarkable thing happened to me, so 
remarkable, that I must tell the story from the begin- 
ning. After I left the High School, I went with G— , 
my most intimate friend, to attend the classes in the 
University. There was no divinity class, but we fre- 
quently in our walks discussed and speculated upon 
many grave subjects — among others, on the immor- 
tality of the soul, and on a future state. This ques- 
tion, and the possibility, I will not say of ghosts walk- 
ing, but of the dead appearing to the living, were sub- 
jects of much speculation; and we actually committed 
the folly of drawing up an agreement, written with 
our blood, to the effect that whichever of us died the 
first should appear to the other, and thus solve any 
doubts we had entertained of the ' life after death. ' 

"After we had finished our classes at the college, 

G went to India, having got an appointment there 

in the civil service. He seldom wrote to me, and after 
the lapse of a few years I had almost forgotten him ; 
moreover, his family having little connection with 
Edinburgh, I seldom saw or heard anything of them, 



156 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

or of him through them, so that all the old schoolboy- 
intimacy had died out, and I had nearly forgotten his 
existence. I was taking a warm bath ; and while lying 
in it, and enjoying the comfort of the heat after the 
late freezing I had undergone, I turned my head 
round, looking towards the chair on which I had de- 
posited my clothes, as I was about to get up out of the 

bath. On the chair sat G , looking calmly at me. 

How I got out of the bath I know not, but on recover- 
ing my senses I found myself sprawling on the floor. 
The apparition, or whatever it was that had taken the 
likeness of G , had disappeared. 

"The vision produced such a shock that I had no 
inclination to talk about it, or to speak about it even 
to Stuart ; but the impression it made upon me was too 
vivid to be easily forgotten ; and so strongly was I af- 
fected by it, that I have here written down the whole 
history, with the date, 19th December, and all the par- 
ticulars, as they are now fresh before me. Soon after 
my return to Edinburgh, there arrived, a letter from 

India, announcing G 's death! and stating that he 

had died on the 19th of December ! 

Dr. Carl du Prel, a painstaking observer, is author- 
ity for the following: — 

"Frau Elgie, when in Cairo, was suddenly aroused 
from a deep sleep, and thought that someone had 
called to her. She partly arose, and saw, by the light 
of the moon, the form of an old friend, whom she 
knew was in England, so distinctly that she distin- 
guished every detail of his dress — among other things 
the onyx buttons which he usually wore. The form 
seemed to be desirous to speak to her, but pointed 
only to the other side of the room. There Frau Elgie 
saw that her young travelling companion, who was 
sleeping in the same room, had also arisen, and was 
looking with an expression of terror at the form, 
which shortly after disappeared. The description 
which her companion gave to Frau Elgie of the form 
as she saw it, agreed exactly with the one that Frau 
Elgie had seem 

"The thought came to both that the friend was per- 
haps dead — but such was not the fact. Some years 
later Frau Elgie met her friend again, and questioned 
him about his occupations. She learned from him 



« 
THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 157 

that, being greatly troubled in mind to decide whether 
he should accept a position that was offered to him, 
he had earnestly wished that he could get her advice 
upon the matter. The time of his great desire to do 
so corresponded to the hour when he was seen at 
Cairo. ' ? 

"Herr Wilson fell asleep on the 19th of May in his 
office at Toronto. He dreamed that he was in Hamil- 
ton, forty miles distant, and there called at the house 
of a lady, who was not at home. He asked the servant 
who met him at the door for a glass of water, and re- 
ceived it. A few days later the lady wrote to a friend 
in Toronto, and requested her to ask Mr. Wilson to 
-eave his address the next time he came to Hamilton, 
for he had on the 19th of May been at her house, had 
taken a glass of water, but had left behind only his 
compliments. 

Mr. Wilson, who had not been in Hamilton for more 
than a month, and remembered that on the stated day 
he had fallen asleep in his office, told his servant of 
the curious circumstance, but begged him to say noth- 
ing abor.t it. 

"Some time later he was at the lady's house in 
Hamilton, in company with several friends. Two 
servants, when asked whether they recognized among 
the gentlemen the former caller, pointed immediately 
to Mr. Wilson. 

These are well authenticated facts, resting on the 
best of personal evidence, and might be multiplied 
into volumes. If they are to be cast aside as un- 
worthy of credence, then human testimony is value- 
less, and everything depending thereon is as unreli- 
able as a dream. 

Clairaudience.— This is the hearing of voices by the 
spiritual sense, being to hearing what clairvoyance is 
to seeing. The following is introduced both in evi- 
dence and illustration : 

A gentleman who resides at the sea coast, and has 
been a captain of sea-going ships all his life, until he 
retired a few years ago, Capt. D. B. Edwards, gave me 
the following narrative, which may be relied on in 
every particular. He has become a firm believer in 
Spiritualism, and is a close and observant student of 
the phenomena. 



158 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 



i i mi 



The story I now relate happened to my uncle, 
Robert T. Brown, and was given me by himself. He 
was a bold, fearless man, who had followed the sea 
all his life. He was in the whale fishery, and once as 
he was starting out of the harbour, the friends on the 
wharf noticing that his anchor was bound unusually 
fast, rallied him. He replied that he should not cast 
it until he again reached home, and in just one year he 
would return. At that time it usually occupied two 
or three years to make a whaling voyage, yet he sailed 
to the southern seas, secured a full cargo of oil, and 
just one year from the day of starting, tied his ship 
to the wharf, never having cast anchor. This proph- 
ecy indicated his impressible nature. The story re- 
lates to the time he commanded the Barque, Isaac 
Meade, bound to a southern port. When at sea the 
wind being ahead, and he having been on deck from 
8 o'clock till 12 p. m., he called the mate's watch, and 
tacked ship, giving orders to stand in shore till 4 
o'clock. He then went below to sleep. He was 
awakened by a voice which he said he heard as dis- 
tinctly as he ever heard anyone, saying, 'Go about.' 
But he thought he must be dreaming, and fell asleep 
again only to hear the same command, 'Go about!' 
He went to the companionway and told the mate to 
stand off until daylight and then call him. When 
called he sent the second mate aloft and told him to 
scan the horizon and see if he could discover any ob- 
ject. He soon reported that leeward was what ap- 
peared to be a boat with a small signal set. Captain 
Brown ordered the ship kept off for the object, which 
proved to be a schooner's yawl boat with five men. 
The schooner had sprung a leak, and went down, leav- 
ing them on the wide sea. They were without provis- 
ions, and would have perished had they not been res- 
cued by Captain Brown. ' ' 

When we meet facts like these we may well pause 
before we, as is now the fashion, refer them to 
thought transference. It is possible for one mind to 
influence another over wide intervals. It is a pretty 
theory to suppose that these five perishing seamen 
sent an impression far over the sea, until, in Captain 
Brown, they found a responsive subject. But it is 
far more rational to suppose the spirit friends of the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 159 

shipwrecked men came to Captain Brown, and finding 
him sensitive while asleep, impressed him to change 
the course of his ship. 

Captain Edwards is responsible for the following 
narration also, which would be placed by the English 
psychic investigators in the class of facts they have 
labelled "Appearances Immediately After Death." 

"Captain James Smith, a native of Stony Brook, 
Long Island, was in command of a vessel, and made 
voyages to the West Indies. On a return passage to 
New York, the night being dark, with a strong breeze, 
Captain Smith, while walking the deck, heard a voice 
saying, 'Hello!' He went forward, but saw nothing 
to explain the hail. In going aft he again distinctly 
heard the call, seemingly coming from the bow of the 
vessel, and having a strangely familiar sound. 
When he arrived in New York he found a letter await- 
ing him, which stated that his wife had died on the 
same night that he had heard the voice at sea. ' ' 

The hearing of voices of persons just at the time of 
death, by friends at a distance, has an overwhelming 
array of facts in its support, and affords one of the 
strongest evidences of the continuance of existence. 
There is a theory advanced by those who rather ac- 
cept any solution than that of the spiritual, that there 
is a prolongation of energy or life for a little time after 
death, and by that means the manifestations occur. 
If the spirit-being survives death at all, there can be 
no reason why it may not continue to exist indefi- 
nitely. 

Telepathy.— Clairvoyance is related to telepathy, or 
thought transference, because both are directly de- 
pendent on mental impressibility. It must be con- 
fessed that it is difficult to distinguish the facts of 
direct spirit control and those which may depend on 
the influence of a mind in the physical body, as both 
depend on the same laws and conditions. A commu- 
nication from one spirit to another, in the physical 
body or out of it, when given by impressions, is tele- 
pathic. Many instances might be gathered, but only 
the following in illustration will be given: — 

"A remarkable, but well-attested instance of spirit- 
ual affinity took place in Jackson, Miss., recently. 
Mrs. Benjamin Campbell, within a few hours of the 



160 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

birth of a child, declared that she was suffering 
greatly from a severe pain in her neck, close to the 
jugular vein, and in her left leg near the knee. As 
no cause for it could be found, it was supposed to be 
imagination, until a telegram arrived saying that the 
lady's twin brother, Barry Davenport, of San Fran- 
cisco, had accidentally shot himself in the neck and 
left leg, dying in a few minutes." 

The sympathy existing between twins has been 
often remarked, though its cause has not, perhaps, 
been referred to the cause here introduced. 

"On the 11th ultimo, at about two o'clock in the 
morning, J. C. Fender, who keeps a restaurant in 
Kansas City, was awakened from a sleep by dreaming 
that friends had arrived to tell him of his mother's 
death. For years the old lady had been living in 
Schenectady, N. Y., but had lately been visiting 
friends in Illinois. The seeming reality of the awful 
news so impressed Fender that he was unable to sleep 
during the remainder of the night. When morning 
came he informed others at the restaurant of what he 
had dreamed, saying that he intended to telegraph 
and verify the truthfulness or falsity of the sombre 
vision of the previous night. He did so, and the reply 
came — 'Your mother died Saturday night, and was 
buried Tuesday.' " 

Prophecy. — Professor Gregory remarks: "By some 
obscure means, certain persons in a peculiar state may 
have visions of events yet future. And, indeed, it is 
only by admitting some such influence that we can at 
all account for the fulfilment of prophetic dreams, 
which, it cannot be doubted, have frequently taken 
place. Coincidence, as I have before remarked, is 
insufficient to explain even one case, so enormously 
great are the chances against it; but, when several 
cases occur, it is absolutely out of the question to 
explain them by coincidence." 

Volumes might readily be filled with the facts of 
prevision and prophecy. We do not expect to do 
more, confined as we are to narrow limits, than to give 
illustrative facts. 

Socrates predicted all the most important events 
of his life, and Apollonius not only predicted, but 
Was conscious of what was transpiring at remote dis- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 161 

• 
tances. Cicero mentions that when the revelations 
are being given some one must be present to record 
them, as "these sleepers do not retain any recollec- 
tion of It" (Cic.'i lib. iii. de Divine). Pliny, speak- 
ing of the celebrated Hermotinus of Clazomenae, re- 
marked that his soul separated itself from the body, 
and wandered in various parts of the earth, relating 
events transpiring in distant places. During these 
periods of inspiration his body was insensible (Nat. 
His., lib. vii. c. 52). On the day of the battle of 
Pharsalia, Cornelius, a priest renowned for his piety, 
described in the city of Padua, as though present, 
every particular of the light, exclaiming at last, 
"Caesar is the conqueror." Nicephoros says that 
when the unfortunate Valerius, taking refuge in. a 
barn, was burned by the Goths, a hermit named Paul, 
in a fit of ecstasy y exclaimed to those who were with 
him, "It is now that Valerius burns!" 

The early Christians considered the gift of proph- 
ecy an essential evidence of their faith. Irenus 
says some cast out demons and prophesy, have visions, 
heal the sick, talk in tongues "through the spirit;" 
and Eusebius gives as reason why these had declined 
in his day, "that the church had become unworthy 
of them. ' J 

"Major Buckley, twenty-three years ago, before he 
had heard of animal magnetism, was on the voyage be- 
tween England and India, when, one day, a lady re- 
marked that they had not seen a sail for many days. 
He replied that they would see one next day at noon, 
on the starboard bow. Being asked by the officers in 
the ship how he knew, he could only say that he saw 
it, and that it would happen. When the time came, 
the captain jested him on his prediction, when at that 
moment a man who had been sent aloft half-an-hour 
before, in consequence of the prophecy, sung out, 'A 
sail ! " '. Where ? 9t On the starboard bow. ' I consider this 
case interesting because it tends to show a relation 
between magnetic power, which Major Buckley pos- 
sesses in an eminent degree, and susceptibility to the 
magnetic or other influences concerned." 

"A soldier in a Highland regiment, then in Amer- 
ica, named Evan Campbell, was summoned before his 
officer for having spread among his men a prediction 



162 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

* 
that a certain officer would be killed next day. He 

could only explain that he had seen a vision of it, and 

that he saw the officer killed, in the first onset, by a 

ball in the head. Next day an engagement took place, 

and in the first attack, the officer was killed a ball in 

the forehead. I am told that this instance of second 

sight may be entirely depended on. ' ' 

Governor Tallmadge records an experience worthy 
of repetition, from the high moral and intellectual 
character of that distinguished man. He was one of 
the party on board the U. S. war-ship, "Princeton," 
on the memorable occasion when the " Peace-maker " 
exploded. During the first three discharges his posi- 
tion had been at the breech of the gun. After dinner 
he returned to the deck, when he observed that the 
great gun was about being discharged for the fourth 
and last time, and he assumed his former position. 
There was some delay of the party coming on deck, 
and, while waiting, he was seized with sudden dread, 
and, under an irresistible impulse, he retired to the 
ladies' cabin. Immediately he heard the report, and, 
the next moment, the intelligence of the terrible dis- 
aster. Five distinguished men, two of whom were 
members of the Cabinet, had been instantly killed. 
The gun had burst at the very spot where he had 
stood; and, if he had remained, he would have been 
demolished. 

The day previous to the burning of the "Henry 
Clay," on the Hudson, Mrs. Porter, being entranced, 
in the presence of several persons announced the 
event. 

On the authority of Mrs. Swisshelm, it is stated 
that the Rev. Dr. Wilson, of Allegheny City, prophe- 
sied "the great fire of 1845, in Pittsburg; the Mex- 
ican war, and its results; the war between Russia 
and the Western powers; and the speedy limitation 
of the temporal power of the Pope." 

While Napoleon Bonaparte was an exile on the 
Island of St. Helena, he made the following remark- 
able declaration respecting the future of the United 
States: "Ere the close of the nineteenth century, 
America will be convulsed with one of the greatest 
revolutions the world has ever witnessed. Should it 
succeed, her power and prestige are lost ; but, should 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 162 

the Government maintain her supremacy, she will 
be on a firmer basis than ever. The theory of a Re- 
publican form of government will be established, and 
she can defy the world. ' ' 

History furnishes many examples of the hero's 
mind becoming ecstatic with the vast labour it was 
called to perform. Hannibal had his star of destiny, 
as well as Napoleon. While pausing at Etovissa, 
he is said to have seen in his sleep a youth of divine 
figure, who told him that he was sent by Jupiter to 
guide him into Italy; and bade him follow without 
turning his eyes on either side. He followed, though 
he trembled with terror; but his curiosity becoming 
too strong for his resolution he looked back, and saw 
an immense serpent moving along, felling trees in its 
way; and after it followed a dark cloud with loud 
thunder. When he inqired the meaning he was told 
that it portended the devastation of Italy. 

The Laws by Which Prediction Can be Made.— 
There is a fixed belief that spiritual beings are able 
to predict the future ; that the coming time is as open 
to their gaze as the past. There yet lingers the super- 
stitious feeling which once attached to the prophet, 
as the leader and mouth-piece of gods. With the 
repudiation of the pretenses of these prophets, proph- 
ecy itself, which once occupied an important place 
in the government of mankind, became ignored. The 
prediction of events was claimed to be impossible, 
because law ruled, and the shaping of history did not 
depend on the will of an arbitrary ruler or God. If 
we consider for a moment, we shall see that for the 
very reason that law rules, fixed and unswerving, 
prophecy is possible. Because of the chain of causes 
and effects, the knowledge of causes gives the power 
to predict or foreknow the effects. Whereas if crea- 
tion was ruled by an arbitrary being, changeable in 
purpose and swayed by human interposition, even his 
own declarations would not be of certain fulfillment. 
He might change, repent, recede, or do the very re- 
verse he promised. 

But when the causes are known, and the laws, 
which are the channels along which such causes run to 
their effects, then these effects may be predicted. 
Thus we may say confidently that if we touch a 



164 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

lighted match to the wick of a lamp there will be a 
flame. It is a prophecy always fulfilled. We know 
the law of gravitation, and by it that if a person is 
unsuspended he will fall. We prophesy this with 
certainty. These illustrations are so simple it 
will probably be said: "Why, this is not proph- 
ecy; it is knowledge!" Yes, it is prophecy so 
frequently fulfilled we call it knowledge. If we take 
more complicated affairs where a great number of 
causes converge to one effect, we find a wider and 
more comprehensive knowledge necessary, but if we 
possess it, we are as certain of the result. 

In predicting events in the future of the nation or 
the race, not to say the individual, such an infinite 
number of causes and effects must be known, that to 
an ordinary mind the problem becomes too intricate 
to be comprehensible, and is pronounced impossible. 
Yet to the mind able to grasp these, the prophecy may 
be as easy as that of the lighting of a lamp before 
alluded to. 

In business there are men who are possessed of 
wonderful prevision, and by its aid meet with ex- 
traordinary success. The great leaders of men, with 
scarcely an exception, believe in their Star of Destiny, 
and have a premonition of the high places they are 
to occupy. Washington, Lincoln, and Garfield may 
be taken as examples. 

Walter Wellman, in Chicago Tribune, says of the 
latter: "Garfield was a fatalist. Editor Carrol E. 
Smith, of Syracuse, was telling me a few weeks ago 
of a singular conversation which he had with Gar- 
field in the autumn of 1878. Garfield was then in 
New York State making campaign speeches, and 
when in Syracuse stopped at the house of Mr.Hiscock. 
After dinner Garfield and Smith sat down for a talk, 
and when the conversation drifted upon personal am- 
bition, Garfield remarked, 'I should like to leave pub- 
lic life as soon as possible. If I could have my heart 's 
desire I would leave Congress and politics, and found 
in the West a great college, such a college as Cornell 
was intended to be by its founder. At the head of 
such an institution I should like to pass the remain- 
der of my days, eschewing all ambition for a public 
career.' Editor Smith asked, "Has it ever occurred 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 165 

to you that you will some day be President of the 
United States?' Garfield paused a moment, pen- 
sively, and then replied with that frankness for which 
he was noted, 'Yes. You may laugh at me if you 
wish, but for many years I have believed that I shall 
some day be President of the United States. ' Within 
twenty months of that night Garfield was the candi- 
date of his party for the Presidency." 

In the line of prophetic premonitions there is no 
limit to the facts bearing on the subject. Almost 
every one, at some period of their lives, have had per- 
sonal experience, in dreams or warnings. At some mo- 
ment the spiritual sensations have awakened and re- 
ceived impressions. This may have occurred during 
waking hours, or more usually during a state called 
sleep, but distinct from it. Impressions received at 
such times are called dreams. If the intelligence 
that impresses them can impress mind with the direct 
thoughts, it does so, but this may cause an awakening 
before the process is complete, and in such cases im- 
ages or symbols are employed. A peculiarity of 
prophetic dreams are their recurrence. The dreamer, 
if he heed not the first impression, will receive it over 
and over again. Dr. Felix Oswald, whose veracity 
is unimpeachable, and who cannot be charged with 
leaning to the side of the supernatural, gives the fol- 
lowing in The Open Court, with the remark that it 
impressed him by its very homeliness with its abso- 
lute truth: 

" I remember the instance of an American family 
that had been settled in the northern uplands of 
Cameron County, Texas, but before the end of the 
year removed to the vicinity of a larger settlement, 
and sold their half completed home for reasons that 
remained a mystery to their upland neighbors. 'We 
had selected that building site after a great deal of 
prospecting,' the first proprietor of that house told 
me a few years later. 

'We had every prospect of getting an improved 
road and a postoffice, and three months after our first 
entry I would not have sold that homestead for ten 
times my direct expenses. But, about half a year 
after, that ranch seemed a haunted place, and I didn 't 
feel at rest day or night, though people that know me 



166 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

are not likely to call me superstitious. But one night, 
about a week after I had got home from a trip to 
Browwnsville Landing, I dreamt our house was 
tackled by a gang of Greasers, and that they shot me 
down and killed my little boy with a club, and then 
loaded their horses with everything they could move. 
Tavo nights after I had exactly the same dream over 
again. The idea began to haunt me when that dream 
had come back for the third time, though I never 
said a word ; but one morning my wife seemed uneasy 
till all our farm-hands had started to work, and then 
asked me to come out into the garden for a minute. 
"Do you think there are any robbers in the neigh- 
borhood ? ' ' she asked me when we were alone. ' ' Why 
did you see or hear anything suspicious?" I asked 
her back. "No, but I had such a strange dream last 
night," she said, with a sort of shudder; "I dreamt 
a gang of Mexicans came to our house, and made me 
run for my life, and just before I got through the 
door I saw them knock little Tommy with a club." 
"Didn't I help you?" I laughed. "I don't know," 
she said. "I saw you collar one of them, and I kept 
calling for you in English to save yourself, but just 
a's you dashed through the gate I heard the crack of 
a shotgun and then fainted." I made no reply, but 
that minute I felt we couldn't stay any longer, and 
two weeks after I made up my mind to move to In- 
dianola. The neighbors thought I must be half 
crazy, but I couldn't help it, and just ten weeks after 
we were gone we got the news of that Pancho Parras 
massacre. The whole neighborhood had been sacked 
and outraged, and, as I know my boy, I am now mor- 
ally certain that he would have stood his ground and 
got himself killed if he had seen any brute lay his 
hands on his mother." 

The following narrative, given by N. Becker, Osh- 
kosh, Wis., is equally remarkable : 

"From 1874 to 1880 my cousin, Leonard Reiter, 
was employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. 
Paul R. R. Co., at Milwaukee, Wis., the first few years 
as fireman, and then as engineer. On the 14th of 
October, 1879, he dreamed that he ran his engine into 
the water, and that he would either be killed or hurt. 
Getting up, he told his wife to pray for him, as he 
thought he would be killed or lose his engine the com- 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 167 

ing night. He felt all day as if something terrible 
would happen. After supper he kissed the whole 
family good-bye, called his wife out on the porch, told 
her to pray for him; he thought he would not come 
home alive. Not being able to obtain a release, he 
went on board his engine, and a dense fog coming on, 
he ran into an open drawbridge. He never before 
could swim, but he swam ashore, and although fear- 
fully injured, recovered." 

"Was not the power which impressed the above 
dream also instrumental in saving him and helping 
him to swim!" 

Yet another instance : 

A. F. McNeal, a well-known citizen of Rawson, 
Ohio, died on the 26th November last, after a short 
illness, and now comes a strange story connected with 
his death which is fully authenticated. On the night 
of January 28th last, he dreamed that he had died 
and gone to heaven. In the dream the date of his 
death, November 26, was firmly fixed upon his mind. 
In the golden city of his dreams, Mr. McNeal met 
Mahlen Povenmire, of Ada, an old friend, and asked 
him when he had died and left the earth. Povenmire 
replied that he died a week before. There were other 
striking circumstances in the dream equally as 
strange, which so impressed Mr. McNeal that the 
next morning, when he awoke in his usual good 
health, he reduced the details to writing, and laid the 
manuscript away in his desk. His wife found and 
read it with fear and trembling, but said nothing, 
although it made an impression upon her mind which 
she could not efface. On the 26th of November last, 
McNeal died exactly as indicated in the dream, while 
Povenmire passed to the land of the unknown just a 
week before. Mrs. McNeal is in possession of the 
manuscript containing the substance of her husband's 
dream as above recited, dated January 29th, the 
morning after the vision came to him. 

It is noticeable that premonitions of events, whether 
received waking or by dreams, have little to do with 
changing the order of events, which seem unalter- 
ably fixed. A person for instance, dreams of being 
drowned or seeing another, at a certain time and in 
a certain manner, and no attempt to avoid the danger 
avails. In the following instance, it may seem im- 



168 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

probable that the person who was in danger should 
receive no warning, while his companion should be 
warned for him, but it will not so appear when we 
consider that one was impressible while the other was 
not: 

''Charles Maguire, a constable of the B Division 
of police, stationed at Chelsea, dreamed a fortnight 
before that he was rowing on the Thames with 
Charles Henry Baxter, a fellow constable, when the 
boat capsized, and Baxter was drowned. Strangely 
enough it was fulfilled on Wednesday." 

From these impressions, received through dreams, 
we turn to messages received direct from spiritual 
intelligences. Of these I will give but one, which will 
serve as an illustration of volumes of a similar char- 
acter which might be introduced. It must be borne 
in mind that the present statement of facts is here 
made for a twofold purpose; one for evidence, and 
the other as illustrative. If they were proved to be 
unreliable, it would not affect the argument or the 
value of other facts in the same class. 

The following was contributed to "Light" by Se- 
bastian Fenzi, one of the bravest officers in the army 
of Italy : 

"We sat round a small table one evening in the 
early part of November, 1877. The table soon began 
to move, and through tilting and the alphabet gave 
the name of the controlling spirit as being Signora 
Teresa Canuti, who had been the governess of my 
children, and who at once told us she brought great 
news, as 'the Pope (then Pius IX.) was soon to be 
called away from our earthly scene.' 

"This made us smile, and we told the good spirit 
that there was no need for a messenger from the far 
beyond to make us aware that a man who had reached 
his eighty-fifth year was on the border of the grave. 
We, however, asked what was meant by soon — and 
the answer was : ' Though difficult for us to measure 
time, I may confidently state within three months.' 

"Some few moments afterwards the table moved 
violently and threw itself on me and then spelled out 
'Emily' (my late wife's name), and went on saying: 
"You laugh at what the Signora Teresa told you, but 
I have more serious news to communicate, namely, 
that the King (Victor Emanuel) will die before the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 169 

Pope ! ' I then asked : ' Is it really you, Emily <? ' and 
the table again jumped towards me and then spelled 
out : ' Yes ; I am your Emily ! ' ' Well, I replied, ' then 
it must be true, for you have never told a fib in your 
life.' 

' We kept the news to ourselves and to our nearest 
friends. 

'The result of the prophecy proved quite correct, 
as the king died two months after and the Pope three, 
as had been predicted. The impression produced on 
our outside friends, who had heard of the prophecy, 
will last to the end of their days. 

"Outsiders will naturally say that this was merely 
a striking coincidence; but we, schooled by many 
similar facts, know that such occurrences cannot be 
forced within the narrow limits of chance coinci- 
dences, and that there is a power at work which 
claims our utmost attention for the good of all. ' ' 

Impressibility of Words and Ideas.— In almost all 
instances where communications are given through 
mediumship great and insurmountable obstacles are 
met in obtaining names, dates, and set forms of words 
and phrases. It is observed that whatever may be 
the nationality of the spirit, the medium speaks in 
his own language, except on rare occasions. It is 
possible for the spirit to speak in its own dialect, 
but this implies exceeding sensitiveness on the one 
side and thorough knowledge of spiritual laws on the 
other. As these are conditions which are not usual 
with newly formed circles, or recently developed 
mediums, investigators are confused and confirmed in 
their scepticism on the very threshold of their re- 
search. When circles are organized and fortunately 
receive manifestations, usually the first impulse of 
the members is for "tests," and "tests" generally 
mean names, dates, etc., which even under the most 
favorable and established conditions are difficult for 
the controlling spirit to give. If due patience were 
exercised these would be given at the first favorable 
moment. By prematurely forcing the matter failure 
is almost certain, and the doubt resulting closes the 
door against further communications. 

This course of procedure arises from mistaken views 
of the methods by which communications are trans- 
mitted. The communications are thought to be given 



170 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

by words to the medium, and by the- medium spoken 
or written. The careful study of impressibility shows 
that words are not a necessary factor. Thought is 
transmitted — the ideas — from the controlling spirit, 
and are impressed on the mind of the medium where 
they are clothed in such language as the medium can 
command. It thus is self-evident that a Shakespeare, 
if he attempted to impress an ignorant medium, might 
succeed in imparting a vivid idea, but the habiliment 
of words by which the receiving medium clothes it 
would be imperfect and inadequate. 

This subject is brought up by an inquiry made by 
a thoughtful correspondent as to what he considers 
an irreconcilable statement, that words are not neces- 
sary to convey the thoughts of spiritual beings. He 
says: 

"According to the opinion I have formed of the 
matter, after repeated attempts to utter a prayer in 
thought, without the formula of words, it is useless 
to connect ideas without words, and the more I study 
upon it the more I am convinced that consecutive 
ideas can not be expressed unless formulated in 
known terms. I cannot think without language ; and 
knowing no other than the English tongue, I have to 
think in English. This may be a fault of my mental 
conformation, and I would like to know if anyone 
can address in thought any conversation without 
words." 

Max Muller has advanced and strenuously advo- 
cated the theory that thought itself is dependent on 
language, without which there could be no accumu- 
lation of ideas, and mental progress impossible. His 
theory is that the word came before the thought it 
conveys. If we cannot think without words, then 
until words are required there can be no thoughts. 
We cannot accept that conclusion. 

Going back to childhood, we come to a time when 
the babe has no words, yet we cannot for a moment 
believe that it is without thought. We know to the 
contrary. When the child, just able to walk, yet 
unable to speak, leads its mother to the door to have 
her open it, although not speaking or knowing a word, 
it manifests complexity of thought. If at that age 
the child be placed in a German, Italian, French, or 
English family, it will soon express its thoughts in 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 171 

the language of those who surround it; but if it 
should be placed where it would hear no spoken word, 
it would remain dumb. Deaf mutes are in the latter 
condition, never having heard a spoken word, but 
they have ideas, often of complex character. 

Thinking in words is an acquired habit. If ac- 
quainted with only one language, thoughts are 
clothed in the words of that language. If in after 
years another language is acquired, a double process 
is carried on when speaking. The thoughts, as a rule, 
are first clothed with the words of the mother tongue, 
and then translated into the foreign. In the panto- 
mime by which those unable to speak a common lan- 
guage convey ideas, there are no words spoken. It 
may be objected, that although not articulated, words 
representing the ideas are thought in one language 
and by gestures are reproduced in other words of 
the receptive mind. True, but in the savage, half of 
whose language is gesture, and in the child before it 
acquires the use of words, this objection does not hold 
good. 

However intimate the connection between thoughts 
and words, so close that by habit we confound the 
two, as the Materialist confounds the spirit and the 
body because of their seemingly inseparable depend- 
ence, by deeper insight we learn that ideas must exist 
before the words by which they are expressed. A word 
has no meaning except that which the mind stamps 
upon it. It is a symbol of an idea. It is not logical 
to hold that the symbol and the idea for which it 
stands are one and inseparable ; still less that the 
s.ymbol creates that for which it stands. 

The resultant of the voluminous investigations 
of l ' thought-transf erence " conclusively proves that 
thought can be conveyed from one mind to another 
without words. When the sensitive magnetic subject 
is made to read the thoughts of his magnetizer, the 
result is the same whether the two understand the 
same language or not: and the same may be said 
of spirit influence. The fact of such impressibility 
demonstrates the existence of thought free from the 
limitation of words ; and if we seemingly cannot think 
without the assistance of words, we must refer our 
apparent inability to the force of habit. 



.1 .72 ^HE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

With this understanding the great and almost in- 
surmountable difficulties a spirit meets in speaking 
in a language not known to the sensitive, becomes 
apparent. That this is possible to be done is fully 
established by facts, but it implies an unusual degree 
of sensitiveness and ability to control. This will be 
more vividly presented if the mesmeric state be com- 
pared. Subject are found so sensitive as to re- 
peat the thoughts of their magnetizer, but they are 
only one in a thousand. They are subject to the 
lower state, but cannot reach the higher degree, so of 
the many mediums who are able to catch ideas, only 
occasionally are there those who reach the exalted 
state of what may be called perfect control. 

The claim that there is an independent organ or 
faculty of prophecy or prescience is an unsupported 
hypothesis. As the foreseeing of an event cannot 
change the cause of the occurrence, the intelligence 
that foresees must judge from cause to effect. The 
mortal prophet may not reason, but receive by inspir- 
ation; but the source of the inspiration must ascer- 
tain from a thorough knowledge of causes. Proph- 
ecy pre-supposes fixed and unalterable relations 
between causes and effects. The mind, capable of 
grasping the chain of causes leading to a given effect, 
can foreknow that effect. 

The prediction of an astronomical event, as an 
eclipse, although founded on the absolute relations 
of numbers, is as truly a prophecy as the prediction 
of an event in history. If an astronomer informs a 
companion when an eclipse will take place, without 
giving the data of his calculations, that companion 
is in the position of a prophet inspired by celestial 
intelligence. He can hear and understand the pre- 
diction ; although he cannot arrive at it unaided, nor 
know the process by which others have gained their 
knowledge. 

The truth of science, of all knowledge, is proved 
by the facilities it affords to predict the unknown. 

The subjection of the universe to unchanging laws 
makes prophecy possible. 

The Trance— Its Responsibility.— Trance and clair- 
voyance are nearly synonymous terms, and the words 
and conduct of the mediums while in the trance state 
have been subjects of criticism. They have been held 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 173 

responsible legally, for law cannot go back of the 
medium and seize the controlling spirit. A large 
class, the majority, regard the medium as a wholly 
irresponsible agent, and condone the most reprehen- 
sible conduct for this cause. 

There are many stages leading to the profound and 
unconscious trance or clairvoyance. It may be pro- 
duced by the mesmeric influence of an operator on a 
sensitive subject. This form is common and has been 
witnessed by almost every one. The magnetizer wills 
his subjects to perform certain acts or to think certain 
thoughts, and the subject responds. This subtile in- 
fluence may be so strong that the subject's will is 
completely overborne, or submerged in that of the 
operator. We may say that this has never occurred, 
but if we take the accepted data of the essential con- 
ditions of such control and spiritual sensitiveness, we 
must admit the possibility if its becoming absolute, 
The possibility of mind controlling mind depends on 
such passivity. If it were desirable for the operator 
to express his thoughts through the subject, it would 
be essential to his success that the sensitive be under 
his control; but if thus under control, the sensitive 
would no more be responsible for the thoughts ut- 
tered than the pen is responsible for the words 
written by it, or the wire for the message it trans- 
mits. 

The controlling spirit and the medium occupy pre- 
cisely similar relations. It is not the body, the phys- 
ical organism which exerts the magnetic influence; 
that is spiritual, and remains the same when the phys- 
ical body is removed. A spirit wishes to communi- 
cate through a medium, and chooses the trance state 
to do so. That the communication be correct, the 
medium must be under the control of the spirit, and 
the more absolutely, the more perfectly the communi- 
cation will be expressed. I think no one, who has 
not experienced this sensitive state, can fully compre- 
hend the delicate blending of the mind of the me- 
dium with the controlling mind. I have watched 
closely the approach of this state, as I would that of 
natural sleep, but as in the latter at the final moment, 
when consciousness is overborne, the ability to ob- 
serve is lost, and that, too, by the necessity of the 
overlapping state of sleep; so at a certain point the 



174 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ability to observe the approaching trance is lost. By 
effort the subject may stop at any of the stages, re- 
ceiving more or less perfectly the thoughts and feel- 
ings of the controlling spirit, but if he pass on to 
the perfect state he loses the power of choice. 

To avoid misunderstanding, let me say that trance 
has two meanings : one wherein the quickened spirit- 
ual senses, freed from the fetters of the physical 
senses, spurn earthly limitations, and the subject be- 
comes able to perceive spiritual things, as he would 
if freed from the body. The other is a sensitive state, 
very similar, which enables others to express their 
individuality. The latter may be called mediumistic 
trance, and is the one under consideration. Its essen- 
tial character is unconsciousness to impressions 
through the physical senses. No sound penetrates 
the ear to the auditory nerves. The eye is insensible 
to light, and the nerves of feeling do not respond 
to exciting causes. Another essential condition to a 
perfect expression of the controlling spirit's thought 
is absolute control by such spirit. 

Now, then, to say that such a medium is responsi- 
ble for the thoughts expressed, is to deny and repu- 
diate the fundamental principles on which spiritual 
science is based. If he is responsible, then he is not 
unconscious — not in trance — not influenced — and an 
impostor. Such is the fatal conclusion which logic- 
ally flows from such an assertion, and we feel certain 
no Spiritualist will be ready to accept it. 

It is perhaps well that this profound state is rarely 
attained, and while mediums remain partially con- 
scious and hold themselves with dread from the full 
surrender for the brief time of their self-conscious- 
ness, we are compelled to be content with" less perfect 
expressions of spirit thought. When we accept this 
view of mediumship, its responsibility has a new 
meaning. The surrender, even partially, of our self- 
control to another and irresponsible being, is a great 
sacrifice and fills us with dread. We become respon- 
sible before the world for the force to which we yield. 
We must in that force repose implicit trust, knowing 
that the same law which allows pure and holy 
thoughts to be expressed, under favorable condi- 
tions will furnish the opposite under equally favor- 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 175 

able conditions ; hence we learn to appreciate the im- 
portance of so ordering the conduct of life, to make 
favorable conditions only for the good and true 
spiritual influences. We also learn why, yielding to 
whatever influence may come, the outgrowth of sit- 
ting in promiscuous circles, is so frequently injurious. 

Hypnotism and Crime.— After denying the possi- 
bility of the mesmeric state and making it a subject 
of ridicule, physicians have received it in full under 
the name of hypnotism. They, however, consider it 
so dangerous in the hands of the common people, who 
have heretofore cultivated it, that they would have 
laws enacted making it a crime for any one not a 
physician to practice it. A large number of books 
have been published on the subject, the most ambi- 
tious of which is by Prof. Liegeois, "La Suggestion 
Hypnotique, etc.," of 700 pages, and deals with the 
responsibility of the somnambulic or hypnotized sub- 
jects. The dangers which attend the sensitive state 
are vividly depicted, and a startling view is opened 
into the possibilities of this condition for criminal 
practices. 

M. Liegeois was remarkably successful in his 
experiments, being fortunate in having those acutely 
sensitive to experiment with. The readiness and un- 
hesitating manner in which those under his influence 
performed what they would have normally considered 
the most dreadful crimes, is not of itself startling, 
but furnishes the key to a class of criminal actions 
not otherwise explainable. Thus a daughter, while 
in the magnetic state, when told to do so, fired a pistol 
at her mother's breast, with the intention of killing 
her. Of course, it was not loaded, but she believed 
that it was A young man was given a powder, and 
told that it was arsenic, and that he must mix it in 
water for his aunt to drink, and unhesitatingly obeyed. 
What is more remarkable, suggestions made by the 
operator during this state, of acts to be performed 
weeks or months ahead, in the waking state, when 
the time fixed came were performed with automatic 
certainty. The length of time between the sugges- 
tion and the performance, according to these experi- 
ments, apparently is unlimited. 

The dangers which threaten the sensitive have been 



176 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

often pointed out. They may be made pliant instru- 
ments in the hands of designing wickedness, but never 
before has it been so clearly shown how the real crim- 
inal may protect and guard himself behind the sub- 
ject whom he employs to do the work. Crimes have 
been thus committed, and M. Liegeois recommends 
that, for the protection of the innocent, a commission 
of doctors be appointed to examine whether persons 
accused be sensitive or not. If they are not, then 
there could be no extenuating plea that the crime 
might have been committed while under the hypnotic 
influence of some other person. But it must be borne 
in mind that if a sensitive may be willed to commit 
a crime, he may also be willed not to reveal or re- 
member anything connected therewith, or that no 
one can hypnotize him. Then all trace of the real 
offender would be concealed. 

Actions and crimes which proceed from a "sudden 
impulse" may be readily accounted for by this the- 
ory of hypnotic or magnetic suggestions^ they are 
the swift, unthinking obedience to the suggestion of 
a stronger will. It may be called the "preponder- 
ance of one idea, ' ' but that only states the .fact and 
not the cause. Why is one idea predominant ? Whence 
comes the force of this idea or suggestion? How 
often do we see individuals, upright, trusted, hon- 
ored for years, without a blemish on their charac- 
ter, in a moment became recreant to the conduct of 
their entire lives. Society may curse and scorn them, 
but they should have unmeasured pity, and tfeey 
would were the causes of such aberration understood. 
Spiritualists know that the same power which enables 
the operator to suggest ideas to his subjects is also 
employed by spirits in their intercourse with mortals, 
and to be sensitive means to be receptive of such in- 
fluence. It carries with it the possibilities of receiv- 
ing ideas and suggestions from any and all grades 
of intelligences. 

This is a fearful state of things, it is exclaimed; 
yes, it would be, were sensitiveness necessarily a state 
of passivity, which it has been and is taught to be. 
It may be one of exceeding positiveness, accompanied 
by the strongest will and trained mental faculties, 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 177 

and then becomes an able auxiliary, an open passage 
to the world of light, instead of a blind master. 
Hypnotism or Mesmerism as a Curative Agent.— 

Hypnotic, or mesmeric influence, is the primary cause 
of healing, under the various claims of miraculous 
' 'laying on of hands/' "faith cure," "mind cure," 
"metaphysics," and when effected by superphysical 
beings. 

Count Fenzi, of Florence, Italy, relates the follow- 
ing personal experience, showing how a superior will 
may assert control over a weaker. It is a fine exam- 
ple of the control of mind over mind; of that kind 
of insanity which comes from obsession : 

"I have lately had the satisfaction of curing, 
through my hypnotic power, the son of an old friend 
of mine, who is one of the best painters. 

"This friend came to me about two months ago, 
and told me that during the last nine months his son 
had a fixed idea which drove him almost mad, and 
since that time his house was in a state of misery and 
anguish, because his son could not any longer attend 
to his art, and was totally unfit for any mental work, 
nor could he be trusted out of sight. His illusion 
was that he had heart complaint, and his state of 
despair, produced by this conviction, often degener- 
ated into utter madness, as he would roll himself on 
the ground, and tear his hair and shriek as one pos- 
sessed — this often happening during the night. The 
medical men, who declared that his heart was per- 
fectly healthy, had tried all that their medical science 
could suggest, but to no avail, and at length one of 
them suggested the idea that only hypnotism could 
save him through suggestion. I mesmerized him every 
other day for a month, and when at length it was 
ascertained that he was under the influence of real 
hypnotic coma, I told him that 'he must triumph 
over the silly crotchet that was tormenting him, and 
which belittled him, and rendered all his family, 
father, wife, and children, unhappy, and promise me 
that he would never again, as long as he lived, ad- 
vert to the subject, but resume his brush, and con- 
tinue to gather laurels well due to his genius.' I let 
him sleep on for a quarter of an hour, and then awoke 
him, and from that moment he was cured. He has 



lit THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

now taken up his brushes again, looks to his affairs, 
and happiness sheds her sunbeams again within his 
family circle, and I, without any merit, enjoy the 
satisfaction of having been the passive instrument 
through which this cheering and marvelous result 
has been effected." 

Count Fenzi is engaged by the Government to in- 
struct the youth in physical culture, and he is also 
enthusiastic in his efforts to encourage a higher spir- 
itual philosophy. The Church has, for ages, held 
poor suffering Italy by the throat, and degraded the 
descendants of the sages and warriors of the days of 
ancient splendor, with the servile slaves of super- 
stition. She has sought to make a "race of men- 
lions into a race of men-sheep," to be shorn for the 
benefit of the priests, and too mentally and physic- 
ally weak to cry out or resist. It is the mission of 
Fenzi to bring up the physical strength of the Italian 
youths of both sexes to the standard of the days of 
old, when the sculptor had only to take the first man 
he met for a model for Hercules, and the first woman 
for a Venus or a Minerva. 

With that luxuriance and perfection of physical 
being came health, beauty of form, and nobility of 
mien, and conscious strength gave independent 
thought and the most suoerior endowment of mental 
faculties. 

Condition of the Freed Spirit.— Not unconscious, 
not senseless, not inactive, but like an eagle freed^ 
the liberated spirit soars in the light of a new exist- 
ence. The channels through which it obtained a 
knowledge of this world are closed, but it has no need 
for them now, for spiritual light acts on the spirit 
oye, waves in the spirit atmosphere vibrate on the 
spirit ear, and feeling becomes as a refined conscious- 
ness, which is far more delicate and exquisite by all 
conception than it ever possessed in the body. The 
case of Laura Bridgeman is here given as evidence 
that the mind does not depend on the senses. She 
was from an early period of childhood a blind and 
deaf mute. Dr. Howe, her angelic instructor, says: 
"As soon as she could walk she began to explore the 
rooms and the house. She became familiar with the 
forms, density, weight, and heat of every article she 



TH12 ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 179 

could lay her hands upon. I found her of a. well- 
formed figure, a strongly marked nervous sanguine 
temperament, a large and beautifully shaped head, 
and the whole system in healthy action." After de- 
tailing her case and the method employed for the 
cultivation of her mind, its importance and bearing 
are thus presented: 

1 ' Pier spirit was locked within her body without the 
least contact with the world through the most useful 
of the senses ; yet she not only thought, but thought 
in the same manner as those who possess these senses 
in perfection. If thought depends on the senses, then 
the quality of thought should change when derived 
of the senses. It it true when thus fettered in expres- 
sion, it does not escape the limitations of its surround- 
ings, yet in the struggle we see the indication of the 
limitless possibilities of the spirit when these are 
cast aside. ' 

''It must be here observed that as long as the mind 
is united with the physical body, usually the physical 
senses overlay and conceal the psychic faculties. The 
mind is seemingly dependent on the body, and is 
changeful to corporeal conditions. It becomes en- 
feebled by disease, by accidents to the brain, and at 
times disappears like a lingering spark from a flame 
in the dotage of age. This, however, is only exter- 
nal appearance, arising from the limitations fixed 
by the contact with physical matter, as the light of 
the sun may be shut out by an opaque body." 

For fifty long years she was an inmate of the Per- 
kins Institute for the Blind in South Boston, and 
never ceased to be an object of great interest to the 
students who have made mind and spirit special stu- 
dies. She has furnished an unanswerable protest 
against the prevalent materialistic view of the origin 
of mind. 

It is not strange, then, that the occasion of her 
death should be eagerly seized to attempt to unravel 
the mystery of the wonderful perfection her thoughts 
attained unaided by the senses. Physicians and 
scientists for a half -century had the wonderful, ac- 
tive spirit before them to observe at their leisure, but 
with the materialistic method which delves in the 
muck for the light of the sun, they were only mysti- 



ISO THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

fied, and waited for a time when they could examine 
her brain. 

They found a beautifully formed, finely organized 
brain. The song of the bird could not be found by tear- 
ing asunder the bars of the cage from which it had 
escaped. The knife may be an appropriate instrument 
with which to study the anatomy of the body ; the re- 
tort to learn the reaction of chemical agents, and the 
microscope for the use of histology and pathology, 
but the knife never reveals the outlines of a thought ; 
the mind cannot be distilled from the reactions in 
the retort, and the most powerful lens cannot reveal 
the spirit in the nerve cell, through which and by 
which it impresses itself on the material world and 
is expressed. Such attempts are too humiliatingly 
painful to be laughable, else they would awaken un- 
controlled mirth. They are paralleled by the urchin 
who tears his spinning top to pieces to find its hum, 
or the little girl who, wishing to know what is inside 
her doll, rips the seam in its body to find only saw- 
dust. 

Have Animals an Existence in Spirit Life?— It is a 
pleasing fancy that the household pets, the cat that 
purrs on the rug by the fire, the faithful dog, or the 
songbird, continue to exist after death, and will glad- 
den the hearts of their owners in the next state of 
existence. The kindly horse that has served so well ; 
noble in his instincts and always reliable, it is said, 
deserves preservation beyond this wintry world. It 
would be inferred that on such a subject, which must 
be clearly known to spiritual intelligences, there 
ought not to be the least disagreement, and, yet there 
are directly opposite opinions. Spirits, on entering 
the earth-sphere, are confused in distinguishing be- 
tween the objective and the subjective, just as clair- 
voyants are, often mistaking the impression for the 
object. We see this illustrated when a clairvoyant 
describes a spirit with the garments worn while on 
earth, for a test of identity. We cannot for a mo- 
ment suppose these old garments really exist ; they 
are subjective — that is, impressions. I have an in- 
stance in my own experience when a spirit appeared 
many different times as she was before death, aged, 
stooping, with a checked shoulder shawl. That was 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 181 

not her appearance as a spirit, but a picture, subjec- 
tive, to make her presence known. Again reversing 
this, a spirit whom I well knew, who had dark hair 
on earth, always appeared with blonde. I interpret 
this as a real objective vision, for although it might 
be an impression like the preceding, it could not have 
been for the same object, and would have been re- 
garded as a failure of clairvoyant delineation. 

The facts adduced in support of the continued ex- 
istence of animals are not of a nature to carry con- 
viction. For instance, a German lady had a pet roe- 
buck, that was accustomed to come and rap at her 
door. It was very ill, and under a doctor's care, 
when one morning she heard its steps and accustomed 
tapping at her door. She at once, supposing it had 
recovered, ran and opened the door, but it was not 
there. She then knew it was dead, and on going to 
the doctor, found her fears realized. This is taken 
as evidence that the spirit of the roebuck came after 
death to visit its mistress. As spirit-feet could have 
made no sound, nor spirit hoofs tapped audibly on 
the door, that spirit deer must have understood the 
laws of producing audible sounds, immediately after 
its death, better than most highly intelligent spirits. 
Is it not more probable that the expectant ear of the 
mistress, struck by some sound, was deceived, and 
her mind rushed to a false conclusion? 

I will introduce a personal experience almost par- 
allel, although it was my eyes, not my ears, that were 
deceived. It was just as the grey twilight of a late 
autumn day, with its dreamy yet distorting haze, was 
settling down, that I rode on horseback into a large 
field of corn from which the grain had been gathered, 
in search of some horses that were feeding there. 
Looking directly toward the middle of the field I 
saw a large grey horse that had been a favorite. He 
held his head high up with arched neck, as was his 
style, and the white stripe in his face was clearly de- 
fined. I congratulated myself on having found the 
animal so easily, and it did not occur to me that this 
particular one could not be there, as he had been dead 
some two years. I kept my eyes fixed on the object, 
and rode directly toward it. The nearer I ap- 
proached the more distinct it became, until within. 



182 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

a short distance it resolved itself into a bent stalk of 
corn, which made the outline of the neck, and a frost- 
faded leaf at the summit, which was the white stripe 
in the face, and the tassel which made the foretop. 
Expectation, obscurity of twilight, the distorting fog, 
had produced the picture. Now had I by chance 
turned my eyes away for a moment, the point of view 
would have been changed and the appearance would 
have vanished. Then I might have always been able 
to honestly tell the story of how one autumn evening 
I saw the spirit of a favorite horse ! 

When spirits enter the earth-sphere they find it 
difficult to distinguish the real from the ideal ; that is 
the objective from the subjective. As earth is a part 
of the spheres of spirit-life, they may correctly say 
that animals exist in the Spirit- world. Furthermore, 
whatever a spirit craves for its legitimate happiness, 
it may create by its desire ; and if earthly pets hold 
it in the earth sphere, there is a possibility of its 
creating them subjectively with such vivid reality 
that the purpose is served, until the necessity is out- 
grown and the petted creations melt away with the 
desire. 

After the interval between man and the next high- 
est animal is passed there is no break to the simple 
protoplasmic cells. Is it not absurd to claim that 
these have an individual immortality? A single one, 
under proper conditions, in a day will increase to 
millions ! Are we to believe that all the insects, mol- 
lusks, fishes, birds, reptiles, and mammals that have 
lived since the first cells were evolved from the primal 
slime of the Silurian Seas possessed individualized 
spirits which now exist? The necessities of such a 
belief demonstrate its absurdity. It may be like an 
aesthetic dream to believe our favorite horse awaits 
us in the spirit-land (shall we say saddled and 
bridled?) ; that our pet canary will sing in its cage 
over the door of our home in paradise; but not as 
aesthetic to think that the ghosts of bugs, flies, fleas 
and vermin and bacteria are to meet us there ! 

It may be poetic for the savage to have his dog 
buried by his side, that he may pursue the fleet deer 
in the hunting-grounds of the Great Spirit, but we, 
with clear spiritual insight, ought not to hold such 



THI2 ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 183 

materialistic views of a future, the spiritual glory of 
which is beyond mortal imagination. Because its 
reality is so far above and removed from mortal com- 
prehension: because when the clairvoyant or the 
spirit-intelligences endeavor to translate its glory 
into speech, they have to use earthly forms and sym- 
bols, there is misunderstanding. 

Is the Distinction of Sex Preserved, and Is There 
Marriage in Heaven?— Much has been written and 
said about the permanency of conjugal love after 
death, and we often hear beautiful descriptions of 
the meeting of freed spirits of husband and wife on 
the shores of the immortal life. There can be no 
doubt that conjugal love survives the shock of the 
death of the physical body, and in the sphere imme- 
diately above this, contributes to the joys of exist- 
ence. Yet the proposition has its axiomatic force, 
that whatever has relation only to mortal life, and 
not to the immortal, will sooner or later disappear. 

Nature, in her interminable series of living beings, 
has kept one purpose, the evolution of an individual 
being in its most perfect state. Sexual distinctions 
are the highest means of propagation, arise from the 
necessities of evolution, and have only this one object. 
With this distinction is correlated, or of necessity 
accompanies, others of dependent character. The 
mental qualities of male and female correspond to 
the diverse demands made on each; and the charac- 
teristics of father and mother are blended in their 
offspring. 

There is endless repetition of the phrases "nega- 
tive" and "positive," and "masculine" and "femi- 
nine;" and it is stated with the assurance of an axiom 
that all things are thus divided. A careful examina- 
tion will show how baseless are all such fancies. A 
slight acquaintance with even the rudiments of em- 
bryology would have prevented the egregious folly of 
such statements. The lowest living beings multiply 
by division, and there is no distinction of sex. In the 
struggle for existence, great advantage is bestowed 
by this differentiation of functions, and when the 
separation is once begun it is rapidly perfected. In 
each successive upward grade these distinctions be- 
eoire more marked, and the offices of each more ab- 



184 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

solutely individual, and reach the widest separation 
in man. Yet the purpose of this distinction^ is the 
same in the highest, as the lowest. The germ of the 
highest, as of the lowest, is sexless, and the distinc- 
tion of male or female afterwards wrought out is not 
inherent, but a result of the accidents of environ- 
ment. 

The embryo of the highest being in the beginning 
is sexless, or more correctly, is capable of becoming 
either, as is shown by hermaphrodites. If sex were 
inherent in the germ, what of the blending of the 
traits of character of father and mother ? Should not 
the child be one or the other, physically and men- 
tally? There are women with all the mental quali- 
ties of men, and men with all the mental qualities of 
women, and there are all grades between these ex- 
tremes. How, then, explain the facts without sup- 
posing that the distinction is not inherent, but an ac- 
cident of environment? 

It is a fundamental principle of evolution that 
whenever an organ ceases to be required, all its mani- 
festations and dependent functions, however remote, 
sooner or later, cease. The distinction of sex is an 
accident in the life of the spirit, essential to the re- 
quirements of organic being; but when the spirit has 
cast aside the physical body, through and by which 
these distinctions are of value, it is necessary to sup- 
pose that the accompanying mental and spiritual dis- 
tinctions also change. The freed spirit will, for a 
time, bear the impress of its physical being, thinking 
and feeling, as while on earth; but these influences 
will be outgrown. 

The faculties of man and woman are the same ; the 
mental distinctions arising from greater activity in 
certain directions, dependent on organic require- 
ments. It follows that when such demands are no 
longer made, the mind will seek a state of equilibrium. 
The mental qualities dependent on the necessities of 
earth-life will be lost, and man and woman approach 
a common type. 

Conjugal love, exquisitely beautiful in its expres- 
sion on earth, will become conscious of its own com- 
pleteness, that it is self-contained and dependent only 
on itself. It will become that refined love which for- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 185 

gets itself in the supreme joy of conferring pleasure 
on others. 

The Spiritual Organism.— If the spirit exists in the 
immortal land as an entity, of what is its body com- 
posed? We say body, for the division of mind and 
body applies with the same pertinency to the spirit 
as to man. 

Admitting the existence of spirits, we are forced 
either to believe that they exist as detached intelli- 
gences or as entities. The first position is untenable. 
If the latter be accepted, it follows, as sequence, that 
that entity is derived from the mortal body, or is pre- 
pared for intelligence to enter. The last position pre- 
supposes miracle, the direct interposition of Deity; 
presupposes an interference we never see in this life, 
and have no reason to suppose exists in the hereafter. 
Mind cannot change from one body to another with- 
out a miracle; and as it is possible to account for all 
connected phenomena by referring them to an entity 
derived from the physical body, and in a strictly 
scientific manner, this conclusion must at last be ac- 
cepted. 

The Most Subtle Form of Matter.— As the senses 
cannot recognize the matter of which the spirit-organ- 
ism is composed, and as all ideas of matter are derived 
from them, we cannot form a correct conception of 
all its qualities. We know that it must be the most 
subtile form of matter. Electricity has often been 
assumed, and that, too, by intelligent Spiritualists, to 
be the constituent of the spirit forms. It is supposed 
that spirits are intimately conected with electricity 
and magnetism. 

Prof. Robert Hare truthfully observes, ' - It appears 
to me a great error, on the part of spirits as well as 
mortals, that they should make efforts to explain the 
phenomena of the spirit world by the ponderable or 
imponderable of the temporal. The fact that the rays 
of our sun do not affect the spirit-world, and that 
there is for that region an appropriate luminary 
(luminosity?) whose rays we do not perceive, must 
demonstrate that the imponderable elements, to which 
we owe their peculiar light, differ from the ethereal 
fluid, which, according to the undulating theory, is 
the means of producing light in the terrestrial ere a- 



18G THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

tion. Thus, although in manifestations our electric- 
ity takes no part, their electricity may be the means 
by which their wills are transmitted effectually to the 
phenomena which it controls. ' ' 

But it is not possible to build an individual out of 
electricity or magnetism, even if these be considered 
elements and not manifestations of force, for if mate- 
rial these atoms have infinite repulsion. Not being 
material, their manifestation cannot take place out- 
side of matter. 

What, Then, Is the Character of the Matter Which 
Forms the Spirit Organism?— Refined, ultimated mat- 
ter is derived from the progress of the physical ele- 
ments. Eternal progress is written in the constitu- 
tion of matter. There is a constant flux and reflux 
through the domain of living beings. By every ab- 
sorption and elimination the elements advance. This 
is not recognized by the gross tests of chemistry, but 
there are others and more conclusive. In this form 
of matter the term substance may be applied. 

Progress of the Elements.— Such facts, which can 
be greatly multiplied, prove what may be termed the 
progress of the elements. This progress is slow, but 
we cannot doubt its existence. Only in those cases 
where the elements have been, as it were, fossilized, 
can we compare their present with their past over a 
sufficiently long interval of time; but. whenever we 
can do so, a difference is discernible. However small 
such progress may appear, infinite time will yield any 
desired modification. 

Every cycle of change through which matter passes 
eliminates some parts to a higher state. It is from 
such illustrations that the spiritual elements are de- 
rived. They are the aroma of the material world, 
the fragrance of its perfect bloom. 

Spiritual Elements Realities.— The spiritual ele- 
ments, such as the earth eliminates, which go to form 
the spiritual spheres, and enter into the organization 
of spirits, are realities. They possess all the proper- 
ties of earthy matter, together with new ones which 
they acquire by their refinement. Carbon is repre- 
sented by a spiritual carbon, oxygen by a spiritual 
oxygen, etc., through the long catalogue. 

The Spirits of Animals,— Of the unindividualized 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 187 

beings whose spiritual essence ascends into the ether, 
like an evaporating cloud, they do not retain iden- 
tity, but if of sufficient refinement it gravitates to 
the spirit spheres; if not, it again enters living be- 
ings, and again and again rotated into cycles of 
change until the essential refinement is attained. 

Spiritual Attractions and Repulsions.— The poison- 
ous wolfsbane, twining its roots around and among 
those of the fruitful corn, extracts from the same 
dew, the same rain, the same soil the most deadly 
poison; while the corn elaborates the life-giving 
grain. Particles seek like particles. They are re- 
pelled by dissimilar ones, and thus the intricate and 
mysterious web of nature is woven. In the spirit 
world the same laws are supreme. The force which 
builds up the wolfsbane and the corn side by side 
builds up from the ascending atoms the orange and 
the vine which decorate the landscapes of the spirit 
spheres. 

Why, If Material, Cannot Spirits Be Seen?— We 
cannot see the atmosphere, and if we trusted our eyes 
alone we should not know that it exists ; yet it is com- 
posed of matter as tangible as iron or' the adamantine 
rock. Whether a body is visible or invisible depends 
on its relation to light. The same rays of light fall- 
ing on one body remain invisible, while on another 
they become luminous. If the solar spectrum be re- 
ceived on a screen, and then all the visible light to 
the extreme violet be cut off, perfect darkness is the 
result. Now, if a piece of glass tinged with oxide of 
uranium, or a paper moistened with a solution of sul- 
phate of quinine be placed in the space beyond the 
violet they become visible. In respect to this extra- 
ordinary fact, Grove, in his admirable yet incom- 
plete ''Correlation of Physical Forces," makes these 
observations : 

"Other substances exhibit this effect in different 
degrees; and among the substances which have been 
considered perfectly analogous as to their appear- 
ances when illumined, notable differences are dis- 
covered. Thus it appears that emanations which 
give no impresions to the eye when impinged on cer- 
tain bodies, become luminous when impinged on 
Others. We might imagine a room so constructed 



18S THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

that such emanations alone were permitted to enter 
it, which would be dark or light according to the 
substances with which the walls are coated, though 
in full daylight the respective coatings of the walls 
would be apparently white ; or, without altering the 
coating of the wall, the room, exposed to one class of 
rays, might be rendered dark by windows which 
would be transferred to another class of rays. 

If, instead of solar light, the electrical light be em- 
ployed for similar experiments, an equally striking 
effect can be produced.* A design, drawn on paper 
with sulphate of quinine and tartaric acid, is invisible 
in ordinary light, but appears with beautiful distinct- 
ness when illumined by the electrical light. Thus, in 
pronouncing on a luminous effect, regard must be 
had to the recipient as well as emittent body. 
That which is or becomes light, when it falls on one 
body is not light when it falls on another. Probably 
the retinas of the eyes of different persons differ, to 
some extent, in a similar manner; and the same sub- 
stances, illuminated by the same spectrum, may pre- 
sent different appearances to different persons, the 
spectrum appearing more elongated to one than an- 
other, so that what is light to one is darkness to an- 
other. 

"The force emitted from the sun may take a dif- 
ferent character at the surface of every different 
planet, and require different organisms or senses for 
its appreciation. 

"Myriads of organized beings may exist, imper- 
ceptible to our vision, even if we were among them; 
and we might also be imperceptible to them. ' ' 

The visual organs of nocturnal animals and birds, 
such as the felines, bats, owls, etc., can plainly recog- 
nize objects in what to other animals is darkness. 
This is partially accounted for by the enlargement of 
the pupils of their eyes ; but not fully, for the pupil 
of the eye of a bat, that sees with remarkable quick- 
ness, is not as large as that of man, who could not see 
at all in an equal darkness. Are we sure that these 
nocturnal animals are not sensible to rays of light 
to which the animals of daylight are strangers? 

Of, insects, it has been suggested by an eminent 
naturalist that they see by means of light unknown to 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 189 

man. To them light may sparkle in colors which we 
know nothing of, and to each of these tiny beings 
nature may array herself in hues which even the rain- 
bow does not equal. Their eyes are constructed on 
an entirely different plan from those of animals, 
although conforming to the requisites of the known 
laws of light. This departure must have its origin 
in adaptation to a different luminosity from that 
which meets our own vision. Some insects can see 
well at night, a fact not referable to the enlargement 
of the apertures of their eyes, for the facets of which 
their visual organs are formed are unexpansive. They 
are able to see by a luminosity imperceptible to our 
eyes. 

Why Seek Immortal Existence Outside of Physical 
Matter? — In the healthy organism, the forces of reno- 
vation balance those of decay. As soon as a fibre, or 
nerve tissue, or bone particle is worn out, new mate- 
rial supplies the waste. So rapid is this wonderful 
process of decay and renovation, that, all the softer 
tissues of the body, all, except the bones and teeth 
are renewed in health every thirty days. Thus the 
body is restored twelve times each year, and at sixty 
it has been changed quite seven hundred times. This 
change proceeds during sleep as well as in the hours 
of wakefulness ; in fact, it goes on more rapidly dur- 
ing slumber, for then the repairing processes are 
most active, while the waste is greatest during the 
day. 

There comes a time when this wonderful balance 
and adjustment is disturbed. The processes of decay 
increase in force, while those of renovation decrease. 
The feebleness of age comes, and death of the phys- 
ical organism closes its career. 

It is not want of vitality, it is of necessity growing 
out of the elements of which they are formed. All 
beings set out to be immortal, but fail because of the 
imperfect material at their command. We are thus 
compelled to look higher, to more refined forms of 
substance. 

Immortality Obtained Without Death. — Noted 
scientists have taken up the fanciful theory that it is 
possible to maintain the equilibrium of forces in the 
body, and thus become immortal, If no more, the 



190 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

theory shows the great desire of even the most pro- 
nounced materialists for continued life. It begins 
with the statement that there is no limit to the age 
to which man may attain, and no reason why he 
must necessarily die. If the functions are all pre- 
served in health, as they may be by right living, dis- 
ease and death will be unknown. This is an immor- 
tality of the body. Would such an immortality be 
desirable? Suppose the time should come when this 
knowledge had been acquired, and life was continu- 
ous, how soon thereafter would the food supply be- 
come inadequate for the demand ? 

The population, under favorable circumstances, 
even with hard labor, want and disease to combat, 
doubles at least in each generation of thirty-three 
years. I take this as a starting point, not because it 
is statistically correct, but sufficiently accurate when 
compared with eternity. Ten generations would 
take us 330 years, or to 2218, and the population of 
the United States, taken now at 60,000,000, would 
then have become by this ratio of increase 61,440,- 
000,000. But as, according to this theory, there are 
no deaths, and as at the end of each thirty-three years 
at least as many as are alive have died, under the old 
regime, which, according to the theory are alive, for 
none died, 128,820,000,000 must be added, making a 
total of 190,260,000,000, as the population of the 
United States in the year 2218. 

Continue this process for a few generations more 
and the organic material of the globe would be all 
used in the making of human bodies, and nothing 
would be left for their support, and starvation, if 
nothing else, would destroy the equilibrium which is 
so finely described as only necessary to gain and pre- 
serve in order to live forever. 

The theory is pleasing only to the sensuous mind 
that sees no hope in a spiritual future. It is true 
that could the equilibrium between renovation and 
decay be preserved, an immortal lion or ox could be 
as possible as an immortal man. But with the im- 
perfect conditions of physical life such equilibrium 
cannot be maintained, and the body, like a worn 
machine, with atrophied muscles, ossified arteries and 
valves, depleted circulation, and degenerated nerv-* 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 191 

ous system fails, and at last is overborne by the forces 
of decay. Death is the complement of life, and the 
age of the animal form is a fixed term under the most 
favorabJe conditions. The giant red tree may live a 
thousand years, but its doom is as certain as the 
flower which sprouts and blooms and dies in a sum- 
mer. The cycle is completed. The cells are clogged 
with foreign matter, and the balance between leaf 
and root, the lungs and stomach of the tree is de- 
stroyed. The end comes. 

Not here in the crude physical material are we to 
look for or expect immortality, but in the sublimated 
realm beyond and above the revelations of the phys- 
ical senses. 

Origin of the Spiritual Body.— With a proper un- 
derstanding of the words, we may employ the terms 
"matter" and "spirit," the latter meaning the ulti- 
mated elements which pervade and arise from and 
underlie the physical world. 

From the former the physical body is created ; from 
the latter, the spiritual. This dual development com- 
mences with the dawn of being, and continues until 
death. The physical form appropriates the physical 
portion of the food; the spiritual, the ultimate ele- 
ments. 

The two forms mature together; one pervading, 
and being the exact copy of, the other. Such being 
the close relation between them, every impression 
made on one must affect the other. Food which 
nourishes, stimulants which excite, all exercise a pow- 
erful influence — an influence felt for infinite time. 
The spirit, when it takes its departure, must bear the 
stain or beauty of its physical organism. 

How Far the Body Affects the Spirit.— Does the 
mortal affect the immortal? Does the grossness of 
this life exert an influence on the welfare of the 
spirit? Reason can make but one answer, and that 
in the affirmative. The Parable of the Sower is a 
beautiful illustration of the effect of external condi- 
tions on the spirit. The same grains, falling on dif- 
ferent grounds, produce widely varying results. If 
an acorn be planted in a rocky soil it will grow into 
a distorted shrub. You may transplant that shrub 
into fertile ground, and bestow on it the best of care 



192 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

—it will become quite different from what it would 
have been had it remained; but it will never mature 
into the noble tree, the forest's pride, as it would 
had it been planted first in a mellow soil. 

The winged seed of the rock-maple, matured by 
sap drawn from the crevices of stony hills, is blown 
far away by the winds. Perhaps it alights on a bar- 
ren rock, just made green by a patch of moss. The 
moss is moistened by dews, and the seed swells with 
life, thrusts forth its roots into the moss so full of 
promise, sends upwards its tiny leaflets, and makes 
fair augury of a tree like its noble parent. But its 
food soon fails. There are nights without dew — it 
almost famishes; there are frosts telling on its unpro- 
tected roots. So a century goes by, when a traveler, 
chancing to ascend the hillside, sees a scraggy, 
scarred bush, so different from what he has seen be- 
fore, that he considers it a new species of maple. Per- 
haps a seed from the same bough was wafted at the 
same time to some fertile dell, and now stands, 
straight and tall as a monumental shaft, the pride of a 
century. 

As the spirit and the physical body are matured to- 
gether; as while connected they are mutually re- 
lated, it is clear that one cannot be injured without 
at least a sympathetic effect on the other. If a man 
lose a limb he has a scar telling of the wound. 
Although he live a century it is not outgrown. If 
the physical body so tenaciously retains the witnesses 
of former transgressions how can a course of wrong 
be pursued and the wrong-doer escape with impunity ? 

The spirit is the Real, of which the body is the 
fleeting shadow; and impressions on that real, com- 
pared with those of the body, are like the impress 
on the granite crag to the fitful shadow of a cloud. 

Write a wrong on the spirit, and ages may be re- 
quired the erase it. Do a deed of sin, and there is 
no forgiveness or atonement. The words of the pas- 
sions, their deeds, are written in the book of the in- 
dividual's life. Only by a knowledge of the right, 
and by turning to the way of justice and truth, can 
the past be retrieved. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
PHILOSOPHY OF DEATH. 



What Is Life? — Appearance Immediately After Death — 
Thoughts of the Dying — What Is Death? — Christian Idea 
of Death Terrible, That of the Greeks, Beautiful — Terrors 
of Death — Myths of the Resurrection of the Body — Chris- 
tianity Takes a Deep Draught of Paganism — Resurrection 
of Christ — Objections of Science — Ultimate of Nature's 
Plans — Death Not Change of Being: It Is Change of Sphere 
— The Spirit and the Body — Death Not an Occasion for Re- 
joicing or Mourning — The Spirit After Death, How Re- 
ceived — Mourn Not for the Dead. 

What is Life?— Life is defined by Richmond as 
"A collection of phenomena which succeed each 
other during a definite time in an organized body." 
This applies equally well to death as to life, for 
in the dead body changes go on in succession as well 
as in the living. Dr. Blainville defines it as "the 
twofold external movement of composition and de- 
composition, at once general and continuous;" "a 
definition which includes the entire mineral world, 
and makes a galvanic battery a living being. "Life, ' ' 
says Lewes, "is a series of definite and successive 
changes, both of structure and composition, which 
take place within an individual without destroying 
his identity. ' ' Spencer gives this in another form : 
"Life is a definite combination of heterogeneous 
changes, both simultaneous and successive." 

How completely these definitions fail will be seen 
if we suppose a philosopher, unacquainted with the 
phenomena of life, to apply any of them, and draw a 
conclusion as to what life really is. They all exclude 
its more refined mental and spiritual phenomena, and 
apply to mineral changes and mechanical contrivances 



194 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

as well as to the complex manifestations of living be- 
ings. Conscious of its weakness, the latter author 
adds to his definition, making it stand thus: "Life 
is a definite combination of heterogeneous changes, 
both simultaneous and successive, corresponding with 
external co-existences and sequences." Thus com- 
pleted, what idea does it convey of life, with its won- 
derful manifestations of intelligence and subtile work- 
ings of spirit ? Cut out of the most concrete abstrac- 
tions, it fails in distinguishing movements in a plant 
from those in a crystal. His illustration of the growth 
of a plant towards instead of away from the light is 
against him ; for solutions throw out crystals on the 
side where the light falls, rather than in an opposite 
direction. 

Appearance Immediately After Death.— The spirit 
has more power to appear immediately after death 
than after it has become completely separated from 
physical matter. In illustration is the following from 
the poet Hermann Allmers: "My grandfather, the 
Reverend Herr Biederweg, in Sansteds, near Bremen, 
had a young brother who was traveling towards Lis- 
bon. Owing to the failure to receive any news from 
him, my father was in great anxiety about him. 

"As he and another brother were sitting one day 
in an arbor, and talking earnestly about the absent 
one, they both at one time suddenly started up from 
their seats and cried out, ' Why, there he is ! ' but the 
apparition vanished. 

"It was learned afterward that at the same hour, 
and, allowing for the difference in time between Lis- 
bon and Bremen, at the same minute, the brother in 
Lisbon had fallen into an open cellar, and had been 
taken out unconscious.' ' 

Thoughts of the Dying.— As death closed the door 
on this life, the greatest anxiety has ever been mani- 
fested to learn what transpired in the mysterious 
realm beyond. The phenomena were watched by 
appalled ignorance, eager love, and scientific acumen, 
to catch some glimpse, however faint, which presum- 
ably might appear at the supreme moment. The ma- 
terialist sees nothing but the ordinary manifestations 
which attend the death of all animate beings. Life 
goes out as the flame of a lamp when the oil is ex- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 195 

hausted. Mind, as the resultant of life, ceases to -be, 
and it would be as rational to expect to hear the song 
of the bird after it was dead, as any mind after the 
brain has ceased to act. 

Those who have found consolation in the last words 
of the dying have their staff of support ruthlessly 
broken by these philosophers. When Goethe cried 
at the last moment, "Light, more light!" it had been 
thought he was enraptured by the breaking glory of 
the supernal spheres, but these materialists plunge 
us into the depths of their muck philosophy by saying 
that it was quite natural that as his eyesight failed, 
and the world grew dark, he should cry for light! 

The thousands who have died with words of recog- 
nition on their lips of those gone before them, labored 
under hallucination induced by their belief. When 
we dream of meeting departed friends it shows a dis- 
ordered stomach ! 

What are the thoughts of the dying? We may 
watch, and when the mind remains clear there is no 
diminution of its powers, and to the latest moment 
it is able to express itself through the body. Beyond 
that time, of course, we cannot know directly from 
the material side. Those who, after passing this point, 
are resuscitated, cannot be said to have died, and those 
who have not been revived must relate their experi- 
ence from the other side. Persons resuscitated from 
drowning or hanging, and epileptics, as a rule say 
that their thoughts were busy with the events of their 
past lives. In other words, memory becomes in- 
tensely active. Few complain of attendant pain, 
and the sensations are almost invariably described as 
pleasurable in the extreme. After the suspense and 
dread, there comes entire unconsciousness of all that 
leads to the catastrophe, and unmeasured delight. 

There is one remarkable fact noted by the cele- 
brated Brown-Sequard, that persons, who on account 
of cerebral maladies have been paralyzed for years, 
when dying recover their lost sensibility and intelli- 
gence. Death then intensifies the activity of the 
mind, and removes the obstructions which press on 
the paralytic. Physicians, determined to explain 
everything on a material basis, gravely say that such 
results indicate intense activity in the cells of the 



196 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

brain : they all break up, and the process evolves un- 
usual intelligence ! We demand a theory which shall 
explain all, and require no special modification. 

There are psychical manifestations which are be- 
yond and above the bursting of nerve cells, which can 
be gathered to an almost unlimited extent. A gen- 
tleman in Iowa, related to me his experience when 
suffering from being frozen in a blizzard which had 
overtaken him on the prairie. How near he came 
to death was shown by the loss of all his fingers and 
a large portion of his feet. He said that until he be- 
gan to revive under the attention of his friends, when 
he suffered intensely, he was supremely happy. After 
the cold came a feeling of comfort, and flashing pic- 
tures of events in his past life. These past and he 
began to see friends who were long since dead. It 
Avas at this point he was aroused, and he fert angry 
at those who broke the enchantment of the moment. 

The experience of Mr. John Lamont, who for twen- 
ty-two years was president of the Liverpool (Eng.) 
Psychological Society, is of deep interest. On three 
occasions (reported in Two Worlds) he has been near 
the realms of the spirit, once by drowning, once in a 
railway accident, and once from congestion of the 
lungs. 

In the first case he felt no pain after the first sen- 
sations of fear and discomfort, but experienced a 
strange illumination of spiritual powers, and in rapid 
review there passed before his mental vision like a 
panorama all his past experiences. The strangest 
part of the thing was that he was able to study his 
peculiar sensation and wonder at a sort of double con- 
sciousness which he displayed. This passed off, and 
he was restored to his normal condition by those who 
had rescued him. His chief recollection was of the 
intense interest he felt in taking note of the powers 
of the spirit. 

In the second case he was seated in the corner of 
the compartment watching the scenery as the train 
sped on its journey, when there was a sudden colli- 
sion. He had no knowledge of what took place, nor 
could he tell the interval of time till he regained con- 
sciousness. Had the shock been fatal he would have 
passed painlessly away. When he awoke he found 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 197 

himself still in his seat, and he exclaimed, "Whatever 
has happened?" He felt no pain at first, but pres- 
ently experienced a tingling sensation at the temple. 
Then the spirit began to regain control over the nerv- 
ous system, the result being that he lost two of his 
senses (taste and smell), the olfactory nerves being 
severed and the sight of one eye almost destroyed. 

In the third case he was so ill that he waited for 
death, and felt "now indeed the end has come." 
While in this state he lost his outer consciousness, 
but found himself alive and perfectly free from pain, 
and in the possession of a spirit body so facile to the 
will that no tongue could possibly describe the joy of 
existence. 

An impressive incident occurred years ago in Hart- 
ford. The man who related it was so profoundly im- 
pressed with the reality of a supra-mortal meeting 
and recognition that he never forgot it. He is still 
living in a Western State. On this occasion he was 
a watcher at the bedside of a dying man, a printer. 
He is a "practical," hard-headed man, and one of the 
last to be driven to fancies. For half an hour, he said, 
the dying man had been sinking. The breathing, 
growing more labored, became slower and fainter. 
The watcher thought the man was dead, when sud- 
denly his eyes opened with a glad look of wonder and 
joyful recognition; he threw up his arms as in an 
embrace, and his whole face was illuminated as he 
rapturously exclaimed, "Why, mother!" The same 
instant he fell back dead. "Nothing will ever con-, 
vince me," said the watcher, relating the occurrence 
years afterwards, "that that man didn't actually see 
his mother then and there." 

Those who pass into trance should not fear death, 
for they know what it is to approach and trespass on 
its domain. We need not wait by the couch of the 
dying to gather fragments, or catch imperfect 
glimpses, for the trance reveals everything to us that 
may be known on this side, and those who have passed 
over can finish the desired record. 

The sense of hearing becomes deadened, and 
earthly sounds no longer are heard. The eyes fail to 
see the faces of friends. The senses close on material 



198 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

things. But at this moment come compensations a 
thousand-fold. Then it is that the celestial being, re- 
leased from the limitations of the mortal body, asserts 
its independence. "With the failure of the physical 
eyes, the celestial vision becomes clear, and sees the 
faces of those once mourned as dead. The celestial 
ears are quickened to notes of harmony floating down 
from supernal spheres, and feeling becomes inten- 
sified to the reception of magnetic waves, which give 
delight to the simple sense of being. Then it is that 
they who have suffered sore and long from disease, feel 
the delightful sense of ease and rest. No more pain, 
no more suffering, no sleepless nights of long drawn 
agony, no hunger or thirst, but the one delicious feel- 
ing of peace and rest. The features of the mortal 
body catch the expression from the departing spirit, 
and are placid or even lit up with a lingering smile, 
as though reflecting its great happiness. 

I have watched the butterfly struggle out of the 
silken shroud, the caterpiller wove around its chang- 
ing form. There was in that struggle something that 
suggested pain. It came out with drooping wings, 
and remained a few moments motionless. Then it 
stretched out its wings, which became of wondrous 
beauty, fanned the air with them slowly, as if testing 
their strength, and was away in the ambient air, as 
though it were its native element. Then I thought, 
would I reverse the processes of nature and recall the 
beautiful creature, floating as a leaf, sipping nectar 
from the flowers, and ask it to return into the broken 
shell, and become a bristly worm, feeding on the 
crude foliage? The worm lives, that the butterfly 
may be evolved. 

When we stand by the couch of the dying, and 
with spiritual perception look beyond the shadows 
and see above the worn and wasted body the processes 
of a birth infinitely more beautiful, and fraught 
with incalculably greater consequences than that of 
the butterfly, shall we in selfish grief call back the 
departing spirit, however sorely our hearts may be 
wrung, and desire it to again enter the wasted temple, 
and experience the pangs of earthly pain? 

This mortal life is for the purpose of the evolution 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 199 

of the spirit. The end has been attained. We will 
patiently wait, assured as we approach the gate over 
which is written beneath the skeleton's repulsive, 
emblematic form, "Death," that when we pass 
through we shall see, emblazoned with the light of a 
thousand stars, "Eternal Life." 

What Is Death?— If it be difficult to define life, 
equally difficult is it to define death. The rule which 
would apply to everything below man does not hold 
good with him. As his life stands in the way of all 
general expressions, so his death prevents a gener- 
alization in the definition of death. Ascending 
through all the lower forms of life, in his being the 
arch is complete; the structure stands firm, erect, 
beautiful, after the scaffolding of the body falls off. 
Death is change, is reorganization: with man, it is 
immortal life. 

. . Christian Idea of Death Terrible, But That of the 
Ancient Greeks Beautiful. — Christians have con- 
nected everything revolting and terrible with Death. 
They have painted him as a ghastly skeleton upon 
a white horse, grasping a spear in his fleshless hand, 
or as a devouring monster. 

They have the honor of originating these myths: 
there is nothing like them in the Pagan world. The 
Greeks painted Death as a beautiful sleeping child 
or youth. In Eastern countries it is believed that 
death results from the love of some god, who snatches 
the spirit to heaven. The Lacedemonians represented 
Death as asleep on a bed of down, watched by Mor- 
pheus and the Dreams. Death from drowning was 
imputed to love of the nymphs, by whom the spirit 
was conducted under water to a beautiful place 
adorned with evergreens and flowers. All these 
myths shadow the truth. The Pagan was as near it 
as the Christian. If Spiritualism render any service, 
it will be in sweeping away all these myths, and giv- 
ing in their place a positive statement of spirit-exist- 
ence. . 

Terrors of Death.— Death has long been looked upon 
as a dreadful gulf, which divides the mortal life per- 
haps from oblivion — the vale of tears and sorrows 
where man's noble faculties would perish in the dark- 



200 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

ness of eternity. Those who pretended to have full 
faith in the belief of the church had little else but 
what has been described — a deep, everlasting sleep 
of mind in the cold earth to comfort them. 

A heavy veil of mist has hung over the rudimental 
sphere in regard to the great change all must meet 
when the body becomes worn and wasted, and many 
depart for the second sphere with these dreadful con- 
ceptions of their minds, and with dear friends 
and relations near by whose minds are full of terror 
at the approaching scene, while the departing spirit 
approaches that gulf which, when passed over, it 
had been told could not be repassed, and from the 
other side of which no traveler could return. With 
these dark clouds encompassing the departing spirit, 
death was feared as the fell destroyer of the race; 
and the safe and easy journey was rendered tedious, 
and a real gulf of anguish. 

Myth of the Resurrection of the Body.— The doc- 
trine of the final resurrection of the body has pre- 
vented a true conception of death. No matter to 
what dogmas the devotees clung, in the finale all 
agreed in this. This belief is not dependent upon 
Christianity: it extended throughout the ancient 
world. In Egypt, it was the death of Osiris by the 
malignant Typhon, and restoration to life by the 
lovely Isis, which was represented in religous festi- 
vals. In Syria, it was Adonis, cut down in the bud 
of his age. Every year his death and resurrection 
was celebrated at Bylus with magnificence. It lasted 
two days. The first was given to sorrow for his 
death; the second to universal rejoicing at his resur- 
rection. In India, the same story is related, except 
that Adonis is Sita, the last consort of Mahadeva, 
whom he finds, and bears with lamentations around 
the world. In Phrygia, Atys, and Cybele were the 
personages of the myth. Atys, a beautiful shepherd- 
boy, beloved of the mother of gods, suddenly dies; 
and she, frantic with grief, wanders over the world, 
scattering the blessings of agriculture. He is at last 
restored to her. Every year the assembled nations 
performed the drama with sobs and tears, succeeded 
with frantic demonstrations of joy. The Northmen 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 201 

constructed the same drama; but Atys became Bal- 
dur, their god of gentleness and beauty. 

In the Druidic Mysteries, the initiate was led 
through the most terrible scenes, shadowing forth 
their belief in the transmigration of souls. He 
died, was buried, was resurrected. The priests en- 
closed him in a little boat, and set him adrift on the 
black, stormy waves, pointing him to a distant rock 
as the harbor of life. 

Among the Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mex- 
ico, the Mysteries were enacted with the horrible ac- 
companiment of human sacrifice. The walls and 
floor of the obscurely lighted temple were washed 
with human blood. The initiate descended into the 
dark caverns under the temple, along a path called 
the "path of the dead." Shadows flitted before him, 
and shrieked and wailed around him, sacrificial 
knives threatened him, and dreadful pitfalls and 
snares yawned before him. At last he reached a nar- 
row fissure, through which he was thrust into the open 
air, and received by waiting thousands with inde- 
scribable acclamations. 

There existed among the most prominent North- 
American Indian tribes, a dim and shadowy resem- 
blance to these systems. 0v_- .' : . - ; l <-*u*^— 

Christianity Takes a Deep Draught from Paganism. 
— Christianity at its rise presented the aspect of a 
new Jewish sect! and through the apostolic age, it 
was only the more liberal growth of the Jewish tree. 
In consequence, it imbibed the myths and dogmas of 
the Hebrew world in great degree. Among these 
dogmas was that of the resurrection of the body. 
Vague allusions are made to this doctrine in the New 
Testament. The phrase, "resurrection of the body," 
does not occur in the Scriptures, and is not referred 
to in any public creed until the fourth century. This 
was not because the doctrine was not believed, but 
because it was so generally received that it was not 
mentioned. As soon as it was disputed, it was at 
once almost unanimously affirmed, and its disbelief 
was stigmatized as heresy. The uniform belief of 
all Christendom, from the time of the Apostles to the 
present, has been that the identical body of flesh 



202 THE ARGANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

which we now possess shall be resurrected, and again 
serve the spirit for habiliment. St. Augustine says, 
"Every man's body, however disposed here, shall be 
restored perfect in the resurrection;" and his words 
have never been disputed by orthodox Christians. 

Young, who is commonly classed with the poets, 
thus dolefully sings: 

Now charnels rattle ; scattered limbs, and all 
The various bones, obsequious to the call, 
Self -moved advance — the neck, perhaps to meet 
The distant head ; the distant head, the feet. 
Dreadful to view ! See, through the dusky sky, 
Fragments of bodies in confusion fly, 
To distant regions journeying, there to claim 
Deserted members, and complete the frame. 

How refreshing to turn from this disgusting scene 
of horrors, and listen to a song of truth ! 

If lightning were the gross, corporeal frame 
Of some angelic essence, whose bright thoughts 
As far surpassed in keen rapidity 
The lagging action of his limbs as doth 
Man's mind his clay, with like excess of speed 
To animated thoughts of lightnings flies 
That spirit body o'er life's deep divine, 
Far past the golden isles of memory. 

Through the middle ages this doctrine prevailed, 
with only an occasional dissenting voice. It was 
supported by scholasticism, with subtlest logic and 
metaphysical hair-splitting. Science has scattered it 
to dust ; but most conservative theologians still cling 
to it, and hold up its disgusting details as boldly and 
nauseatingly as ever. They contend that the exam- 
ple of Christ's resurrection proves the resurrection 
could have found a dwelling beneath its surface." . 

When this doctrine is held up in its ugly deformity, 
sea, or consumed by the flames, or enriching a battle- 
field, or evaporating in the atmosphere, all, from 
Adam to the latest born, shall wend their way to the 
great arena of the judgment. Every perished bone 
and every secret particle of dust shall obey the sum- 
mons, and come forth. If one could then look upon 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 203 

the earth he would see it as one mighty excavated 
globe, and wonder how such countless generations 
could have found a dwelling beneath its surface. 

When this doctrine is held up in its ugly defomity, 
its utter untenableness shown, and the keen edge of 
ridicule pointed against it, the Christian will Spirit- 
ualize the whole scheme. He has no right to do so. 
The recognized authorities in theology receive the 
words literally, and it is heterodox to believe other- 
wise. 

Mohammed engrafted this dogma into his theolog- 
ical system, and it is taken now in its literal sense by 
orthodox Moslems, though a powerful sect represents 
the heterodox idea of Spiritualization. 

The Resurrection of Christ.— "The resurrection of 
Christ proves the resurrection of all human bodies, " 
says a distinguished theologian. "Christ rose into 
heaven with his body of flesh and blood, and wears 
it there now, and will forever. Had he been there 
in body before, it would have been no such wonder 
that he should have returned with it ; but that the flesh 
of our flesh, and bone of our bone, should be seated 
at the right hand of God, is worthy of the greatest 
admiration." 

The Christian dogma of the resurrection of the 
body has its source in Zoroaster, the Persian law- 
giver and prophet who voiced the child-man's specu- 
lations of preceding ages; and in the dogmas of the 
Egyptian priesthood. It was adopted by the Jews, 
who, in their close relation to that ancient people,- 
were deeply impressed with the melodramatic out- 
lines of this doctrine as taught at its source. The 
scheme ran thus : The good Ormuzd created man 
pure and happy, and to pass to a heavenly immor- 
tality; but the baleful Ahriman insinuated his hate- 
ful presence, and destroyed the plans of the Creator 
by introducing corruptions among mankind, to be 
expiated by disease and death of the body, and the 
consignment of the unclothed spirit to the terrible 
sufferings of hell. 

But the great battle between the god of evil and 
the god of good goes on unceasingly ; and, in the end, 
the good will triumph, and the evil one sink into dis- 



204 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

comfiture. All evil deeds will then be canceled, and 
the original order of things be restored. Then all 
souls shall have their shattered bodies restored in- 
tact, and the grand march of creation commence 
anew. 

If we substitute Satan for Ahriman, we have the 
Jewish doctrine complete. Satan corrupts mankind ; 
for which they suffer death and the punishment of 
hell. The resurrection of the body restored man to 
his original condition of purity. In other words, 
God, the infinite and eternal spirit, came to earth, took 
on a human body, and ascended with it to heaven, 
and eternally retains the garments of flesh and blood, 
in order to teach man that in like manner his spirit 
will ascend. But Paul says, "Flesh and blood cannot 
inherit the kingdom of God." "But some one will 
say, How are the dead raised up, and with what 
bodies do they come ? " " Thou fool ! that which thou 
sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but 
naked grain ; and God giveth it a body as it has 
pleased him." "There are celestial bodies and ter- 
restial bodies. " " There is a natural body, and there 
is a spiritual body." "We shall all be changed; and 
bear the image of the heavenly, as we have borne the 
image of the earthly." That is a clear expression 
of the teachings of Modern Spiritualism. 

Objections of Science.— Let us look at the objec- 
tions against the resurrection of the flesh, and the 
assigned reasons which render it a necessary part of 
the orthodox scheme of salvation. The dogma of a 
literal hell of fire being received, that of the resur- 
rection is unavoidable; for fire and physical torture 
cannot apply to a disembodied spirit. The old body 
must be drawn from the tomb and united with the 
spirit, that both together may suffer for sins that 
both together have committed. A living Presbyte- 
rian divine, in the fervor of his zeal for the welfare 
of sinners, exclaims, "The bodies of the damned in 
the resurrection shall be fit dwellings for their vile 
minds. With all those fearful and horrid expres- 
sions which every base and malignant passion wakes 
up in the human countenance stamped upon it for 
eternity, and burned in by the flaming fury of their 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 205 

terrific wickedness, they will be compelled to look 
upon their own deformity, and to feel their fitting 
doom." 

When the reasoner starts from wrong data, he runs 
as wild a course as the mathematician when he be- 
gins with wron'g figures to work a problem. The ad- 
mission of the dogma of hell brought with it this one, 
still more absurd. If the body be resurrected, what 
body shall rise — the body that died, or that which 
is possessed while in health? Physiologists affirm 
that the fleshy portions of the body change in from 
seven to thirty days ; at the end of a year, not a par- 
ticle of the former body remains. If the body changes 
every month, we have twelve new bodies a year, and 
at threescore years and ten we have possessed eight 
hundred and forty bodies. At the final day, which 
shall be the honored seat of the soul? One has as 
good claim as the other. Perhaps all will be claimed 
— a theory which seems necessary, if it be necessary 
for the flesh and spirit to suffer together for the sins 
committed together — and the miserable soul will pos- 
sess a body as large as the writhing Titan, Tityrus, 
whose fabled body covered nine acres ! If the last 
body be the honored one, and resurrected just as the 
spirit left it, as a major portion of mankind die of 
disease, what a loathsome assemblage must the last 
day present! In this case the saint will be obliged 
to drag his deformed body through eternity! The 
" living skeleton" must forever remain a skeleton; 
Daniel Lambert, the mammoth man, will weigh half 
a ton, either in one place or the other. The pale, 
sickly, cadaverous, deformed, remain pale, sickly, 
cadaverous, deformed, for ever and ever. The other- 
wise inexplicable difficulty is evaded by saying, "It 
is not necessary that the resurrected body should con- 
tain a single particle of the body laid in the grave, if 
it only contain particles of the same kind, united in 
the same proportion, and the compound be made to 
assume the same structure, as the natural body." 
What, then, becomes of the cardinal idea which ren- 
ders resurrection necessary, the punishment of the 
sinful body? Such a resurrection would not meet 
the requirements and necessities of the hypothesis. 



206 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

The explanation is a denial and desertion of the dog- 
ma, and more unreal than that stupendous myth. It 
illustrates how entangled the student becomes when 
he attempts the impossible task of harmonizing 
science and theology. 

Ultimate of Nature's Plan.— Nature, by a plan ever 
pursued, has one grand and glorious aim— the evolu- 
tion of an immortal intelligence. From the chaotic 
beginning, through the monsters of the primeval 
slime, through all the evanescent forms of being, up 
to man, that plan has been undeviatingly followed. 
Without this attainment, creation is a gigantic failure, 
and the results are objectless combinations of causes. 
The great tree of life strikes its roots deep into the 
soil of the elemental world, and stretches up its 
branches into the present. Its perfect fruit is man, 
immortal in his spiritual life. Such is a necessity of 
his constitution. Through no other being can this 
result be reached. The laws that perfect a tiger, a 
lion, an ox, or a horse, each after its type, making 
them more and more perfect of their kind, apply to 
him physically. With them, however', the end in that 
manner is reached. After a perfect tiger, or deer, 
or ox is attained, what then? Nothing. Causation 
in that direction is satisfied. After a perfect phys- 
ical man is created, what then? Everything. Only 
a small fragment is gained. He walks on the boun- 
daries of an illimitable ocean of capabilities, only the 
means of attaining which have been acquired. Does 
nature satisfy herself with the bud of promise, the 
flower even, or with the mature fruit? 

When this doctrine is held up in its ugly deformity, 
want of time, there is want of opportunity. A being 
capable of infinite growth must have infinite dura- 
tion in which to expand. The opportunity, the dura- 
tion, is bestowed by death. 

Death Is Not Change of Being: It Is Change of 
Sphere. — The spirit, whether in the body or out of it, 
is the same. The man who goes out of the door of 
his house is the same individual that he was within. 

The Spirit and the Body.— The spiritual being is 
severed from the physical body, perhaps forcibly, 
perhaps slowly by the maturity of age. However 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 207 

severe the forces that rend and obliterate the mortal 
form, they have no permanent effect on the spirit, 
which is unaffected by physical forces or elements. 
If the body be crushed to atoms by a falling ava- 
lanche, the spirit is unaffected, because the mineral 
mass is a void, through which it passes swiftly and 
unharmed. So, of all the terrible forms in which 
death presents itself, the spirit passes the storm, leav- 
ing the body wrecked and shattered. Although the 
chaff is blown away, existence, individuality, remains. 

Man Should Mature, Like the Fruit of Autumn, 
Before Death. — The plan of nature teaches that man 
should mature in age, and the separation take place 
as gradually and beautifully as the fruit drops in 
autumn from its parent limb. It is not desirable to 
enter the spirit world before a ripe experience in this. 
There is a great loss by doing so. The instinct of 
life is a barrier against the temptation to enter the 
spirit-world. Death is fearful, and justly so, to those 
who regard it as a leap into profound darkness, and 
it is idle to talk to a heart lacerated by the iron hand 
which tears from it the dearly loved. 

Death Not an Occasion for Rejoicing or Mourning. 

— As every extreme induces an opposite extreme — 
from the grim picture of thefleshless skeleton with his 
remorseless scythe, from the lament and low moan of 
utter desolation — the Spiritualist paints death with 
rapture, and entitles apotheosis "gone to the summer- 
land," "passed on.*' "reborn," and speaks of the 
shroud as a marriage robe. Let us not be hasty. As 
flesh-clad spirits, we walk the courts of immortality 
as much now as we shall in the infinite future. We, 
as spirits, are now in the spirit-world ; and unless we 
pass from this sphere with its duties completed, we 
have nothing for which to rejoice. ~ Enter the cham- 
ber of the dead. The senses reign supreme. They 
stifle our intuition. They have the logic of appear- 
ance. Call to the dear one and over that narrow 
chasm no answer will return. Dark, terribly still, 
fearfully sullen, the oblivion!— Oblivion? 

Wait, lacerated heart, and throbbing brain; wait 
until the senses are less active, and the interior soul 



208 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

assert itself. Then, you will feel more reconciled 
with fate. 

The Spirit After Death— How Received.— Not alone 
passes the spirit to its new domain. Those it loved, 
gone before, are there to welcome it. The outcast 
and prodigal are met on the threshold by benevolent 
spirits, who lead them into the new and delightful 
paths, and endeavor to awaken their understanding 
to the new and supreme life they have entered. Death 
comes as a liberator. The body can no longer sub- 
serve the purposes of the spirit. It can only inflict 
pain. Worn out by age, destroyed by disease, or 
lacerated by casuality, it fails in its uses, and is cast 
off. The steps by which the doorway is reached are 
painful; but once there, all is rest. The quivering 
limbs, the contracting muscles, do not indicate pain, 
but simply the disturbed equilibrium of forces. The 
spirit enters the clairvoyant state deeper and deeper 
— that is, becomes more and more separated from the 
body — until the final parting. Often, while yet con- 
nected with the body, it recognizes dear friends on 
the heavenly coast; and, as the setting sun gilds the 
landscape, so the spirit reflects on the countenance 
the glories it beholds, and the pale lips smile sweetly, 
as though they would speak of infinite beatitudes. 

From the threshold it is led by welcoming friends 
and introduced to its new life. It has lost noth- 
ing : it has gained nothing. It is the same individual, 
with no faculty diminished or increased ; before 
whom extends the same interminable ocean of prog- 
ress, to be navigated only by the culture of its own 
inherent powers. 

Mourn Not the Dead.— The believer in this beauti- 
ful apotheosis should not shadow the joys of the de- 
parted by putting on the weeds of woe. To those 
who regard death as the "King of Terrors," it may 
be well; but, for the Spiritualist, it is contradictory 
to the belief expressed. We know the feelings of the 
lacerated heart, and deeply sympathize with its agon- 
ized throbs when robbed of its idols. Over the grave 
the mourner gazes sadly, wearily, the senses crushed 
and torn, and the Spirit Perception, dimmed by the 
pelting rain, insensible to impressions of the invisible 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 209 

world. The dark clouds of the physical senses ob- 
• scure the spiritual sun ; and we cry out, from our rack 
of torture, to those who are gone, and over the chill 
void even echo refuses her answer. If we loved the 
living, we worship the dead. "We would pay them 
respect. We would change for them the order of 
our lives, and constantly give outward expression to 
our grief. We give such expression in our garments. 
The sackcloth and ashes of the heathen devotee be- 
come with us crape and black raiment. If the dead 
are dead ; if they go down to the grave as a final goal ; 
if they pass to an infinitely removed hell, or, 
almost equally deplorable, to a heaven where they 
forget us in the new scenes with which they are sur- 
rounded; if death destroys all human emotions and 
feelings, and if we meet on the shining shore our de- 
parted ones as cold, intellectual passivities — oh, then, 
let us put on, not only mourning garments, but the 
hair-cloth of the ancients, that its irritation may con- 
stantly remind us of our irreparable loss ! Let us 
wear it, not for a year, but for our mortal lives, till 
it cuts through nerve and sinew, and the bones to the 
marrow. 

If, on the contrary, we receive the Spiritual phil- 
osophy, and believe that death is only the gateway 
to another, better, and brighter state of existence; 
that the spirit of the departed are constantly around 
us, and that all that is required, is a channel, for us 
to receive words of love from them, why should we 
put on the meaningless weeds of woe ? 

If our grief repeat itself on the minds of the de- 
parted, it is selfish in us to repine, and, by our sor- 
row, give pain to those for whom we suffer. Mourn- 
ing garments perpetuate and keep alive this unwar- 
ranted grief. They are fitting for barbarians, or be- 
lievers in the doctrines descended from an age of bar- 
barism, but not for those who know that death is the 
usher to a higher plane of existence. 

Respect for the dead! — not to be paid with crape 
and solemn faces, sighs and tears, but by a well- 
ordered life, that reflects the purity of the loved ones, 
who look down on us from the vernal heights of im- 
mortality. 



CHAPTER IX. 

MEDIUMSHIP: ITS PHENOMENA, LAWS, AND 

CULTIVATION. 



Among Savages — Hermits of India — Delphic Oracle — Church 
Fathers — Caedmon, the First Saxon Medium — Spirits Not 
Evil Because They Fail in Making Correct Communica- 
tions — Mediumship Produced by Excitement — Exaltation 
Produced by Disease — Spiritual Perceptions at Death — 
Normal Impressibility Preferable to That Induced — Desire 
for Mediumship — How to Become a Medium — Influence of 
Individuals on the Communications — A State Negative to 
Mediumship — Why Communications Are Contradictory — 
Responsibility of Mediumship — Hints With Reference to 
Communicating With Spirits — Cultivating of Mediumship 
— Evil Spirits, How to Escape Communications From — In- 
spiration Influenced by the Channel Through Which It 
Flows — Mind Reading and Mediumship. 

Among Savages.— The rude and childish methods 
of savages to divine the future depend on the sup- 
posed interference of spiritual beings with whom 
they people the air and under world. When the 
Australians desire success in the chase they make a 
grass image of the kangaroo, and dance around it, 
believing that the image gives them power over the 
real kangaroo. The same custom is found with the 
Algonquin Indians. Among other tribes, images of 
persons over whom injurious influences are to be ex- 
erted are made, and the destruction of the images is 
supposed to affect the persons represented. The same 
custom is found with the Peruvians, in Borneo, and 
India, and is preserved in hanging in effi.gy. 

Among the Maori, the magicians set sticks in the 
ground, to represent each warrior who is to start on 
an expedition, and they whose sticks are blown down 
are to die. The Feejeans divine by shaking a branch 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 211 

of dry cocoanuts; if all fall off, the sick person will 
recover ; if not, he will die. They divine by observ- 
ing 1 their limbs : if the right trembles first, it is well ; if 
the left,itisbad: bythetasteof a leaf, or whether they 
can bite it through ; or whether a drop of water will 
run down their arm, or drop off. 

Even the spirit of the dead can be affected by 
charms, incantations, and prayer, or directly through 
its body. The African fastens the jaw-bone of his 
enemy to a drum, that the constant jar may torment. 

Among savage peoples the belief in the existence 
and presence of spiritual beings is almost universal, 
and though the means employed to hold converse 
with them may appear rude, the communications re- 
ceived are adapted to the wants of the receiver. 

The shaking of a branch of cocoanuts gives as di- 
vine a revelation to the Feejean as the inspired pen to 
another race. The hermit of the Ganges retires to 
the eternal solitudes of the mountain caverns or the 
impenetrable wilds, and by fasting and prayer re- 
duces the physical body, thereby becoming suscepti- 
ble to the immortal intelligences. The Indian re- 
tires to the forest, and fasts until he receives a revela- 
tion. 

The prophecies of the Delphian oracle, which, per- 
haps, were the most truthful the world has ever pos- 
sessed, were delivered by susceptible women, under 
the narcotizing influence of a subtile vapor, issuing 
from a crevice of the rocks; and the other Grecian 
oracles, though not as famous, gave messages of re- 
markable prophetic truthfulness. In all instances the 
priestess prepared for the seance by fasting and ab- 
lution. 

The Church fathers record many wonderful in- 
stances of spirit influence. Cyprian, Bishop of Car- 
thage, taught that evil spirits obsessed mortals, and, 
Tertullian says, made their expulsion a test of faith: 
"If a man calls himself a Christian and cannot expel 
a demon, let him be put to death on the spot." 

Jerome, in the fifth century, restored sight to the 
blind, cured paralysis, and cast out demons by the 
power of the spirit. 

The earliest Saxon poet, Caedmon, who died in 680, 



212 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

wrote professedly under spirit-control, and the quaint 
story of his life shows how wonderfully similar the 
methods of spirit influence are in all ages and among 
all races. His writings are the oldest extant speci- 
mens of Anglo-Saxon Metrical composition, and are 
said to have served Milton for the foundation of 
"Paradise Lost." He was originally a cowherd at- 
tached to the monastery of Whitly in England, but 
became a monk. Not having any musical training, 
w r hen the harp was passed he always retired before 
his turn came. On one such occasion when he had 
retired to his cattle-shed, mortified and depressed, 
after a time, -worn out with self-reproving, he fell 
asleep. In a dream, if it was a dream, he heard some 
one say: 

' ' Caedmon, sing me something. ' ' "I cannot sing, ' 
he replied. "Yet," said the voice, "thou must sing 
to me. " "I cannot sing, ' ' he again replied. ' ' Sing, ' ' 
said the vision. Then Caedmon asked, "What shall 
I sing ? ' ' Said he, ' ' Sing to me of the Creation of all 
things. ' ' 

Then the poet composed his first poem, an ode in 
honor of the Creator. This poem he remembered 
when he awoke, and repeated to the Abbess Hilda, who 
caused it to be written as it fell from his lips • more 
than this, she took him under her patronage. He was 
at once released from cattle-keeping, and in the mon- 
astery gave his time to study and composition; some 
of his later poems exceed in power and beauty the 
first composed in dreamland. 

He cultivated his sensitiveness in the right direc- 
tion, and with the better conditions it constantly im- 
proved. Caedmon illustrates that phase which may 
be known as spontaneous manifestation of inspira- 
tion, out of which has come the grandest achieve- 
ments of genius in literature, art, science, and inven- 
tion. 

Spirits Not Evil Because They Fail to Make Cor- 
rect Communications.— A spirit, determined to de- 
velop a friend as a medium, may, by constant mag- 
netic effort, induce a state of harmonious vibration- 
between himself and his friend, just as the fixed 
string, by throwing the other into vibration, at length, 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 213 

by slow approximations, draws it into harmony, or 
in other words, makes it echo its own notes. It then 
becomes a medium for the utterance of the other. 

Here we have unfolded much that passes as the 
work of "evil, undeveloped spirits." Suppose, while 
the above-mentioned strings are out of harmony, we 
strike one, and the other vibrates; it only yields dis- 
cord. Its tone has no resemblance to that which 
awoke it. It has spoken, but it has not spoken a word 
of what it was told to speak. Is it false? No. It 
has made an effort, and done the best it can. That 
effort will enable it to respond more truthfully at the 
next trial. It may fail again and again, but sooner 
or later it will give forth harmonious responses. 

While holding a seance of peculiar interest with 
Dr. D. and family, his wife's sister became subject 
to strange muscular vibrations. Some laughed, oth- 
ers wisely said it was fancy, while others would have 
said an evil spirit had taken possession. 

A few evenings after this the family held a seance 
alone; and a beloved brother, who was accidentally 
killed a year previous, wrote wonderful communica- 
tions through her now firm hand. The eagerness of 
the spirit rapidly broke down the opposing obstacles ; 
but had the friend cried, "An evil spirit ! " at the com- 
mencement, the nervous vibration would have cor- 
responded with this opposition, until a diabolic influ- 
ence would have readily suggested itself. There are 
spirits far from good, but the greatest prudence 
should be employed when judging of phenomena from 
the material plane. 

While the medium is passing through this transi- 
tional state, he is often violently controlled; and the 
paper on which he essays to write is covered with 
hieroglyphical marks. With perfection of control, 
contortions and unintelligible writing will cease, and 
a beautiful sense of harmony yield exquisite thoughts, 
set to musical words. 

Medmmship Produced by Excitement.— P. B. Ran- 
dolph relates the following experience : He was fol- 
lowing the sea in the capacity of cabin-boy. The cap- 
tain and mate were severe men, and he was subjected 
to much abuse from them. On one occasion they 



214 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

had beaten him cruelly, and driven him to utter des- 
peration, when he felt an interior impulse to cast him- 
self into the sea, and so end his troubles. He ran for 
that purpose towards the side of the vessel; but, just 
as he was about to take the fatal leap, he saw the ap- 
parition of an arm and hand rising above the water, 
and motioning him to go back. He suddenly stopped, 
and nearly fell backward; but, after persuading him- 
self that this figure was a mere phantom of the im- 
agination, he rallied for a still more desperate effort, 
resolving not to be diverted from his purpose that 
time. As he approached the side of the vessel, how- 
ever, he saw the whole form of his deceased mother 
floating above the waves, and this time she addressed 
him, speaking to his internal hearing, and commanded 
him to desist from his purpose, saying that the time 
for him to leave the world had not yet arrived, and 
that there was an important work for him to do in 
the future. He was thus saved from the suicide's 
death, and strengthened to endure the insults of his 
persecutors. In several other instances he had been 
saved from danger, and strengthened under adver- 
sity, by the interposition of his spirit-mother. 

Exaltation Produced by Disease.— Is illustrated in 
the case of Professor Hitchcock, detailed by himself 
in "The New-En giander, " and it is one of the most 
striking on record. He had, "during a fit of sickness, 
day after day, visions of strange landscapes spread 
out before him — mountain and lake and forest ; vast 
rocks, strata upon strata piled to the clouds ; the pan- 
orama of a world, shattered and upheaved, disclosing 
the grand secrets of creation, the unshapely and mon- 
strous rudiments of organic being." He became sen- 
sitive, by sickness, to the atmosphere of the strata. 
It is recorded by his son, that during his illness, he 
saw spread out before him the beds of sandstone of 
the Connecticut Valley covered with tracks, and by 
them was enabled to determine points on which he 
had during health studied in vain. 

The sensitive state induced by fasting is often seen 
in the case of religious enthusiasts. The practice 
was valued by all the nations of antiquity, and is yet 
held in high veneration by savages. The young In- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 215 

dian must go out into the wilderness and fast until 
the Great Spirit manifested himself, before he can 
become a brave. Trance and ecstasy were usually 
attained by fasting. The ideal prophet seldom tasted 
food, and held constant intercourse with the Deity. 
Frequently the fasting was carried to such an extent 
as to develop the most fearful form of madness. 

Sensitiveness Induced by Sickness.— Disease, by an- 
nulling the influence of the physical body, sometimes 
intensifies the faculties of the spirit. Volumes might 
readily be filled with facts of this class, which are 
usually lightly cast aside as vagaries of an enfeebled 
brain. The influence of spirits in restoring health is 
important in this field of study. 

The Rev. W. R. Shedd, in the Christian Weekly, 
avers the absolute truthfulness of the following. A 
beautiful and everyway superior young lady was sick 
with typhoid fever, and hope of her recovery had 
gone. 

"It was in the still hour of the night. The lamp 
was shaded and burning dimly in the chamber. Two 
friends were watching in silence at her bedside. Not 
a sound could be heard, save the occasional moan of 
the sufPerer. Presently she is heard to whisper faint- 
ly. Her friends, turning to her, saw her counten- 
ance, lighted with radiant joy and bending over, 
asked : 

" 'What did you say, Eliza?' 

"Not hearing the question, and her eyes fixed 
steadily on what seemed only vacancy to her friends, 
she said: 'Oh, you must be an angel! I know you 
are an angel!' 

" 'Why, Eliza, there is nobody here but me and 
A .' " 

"As if following towards the door the receding 
steps of a loved one, with longing look she said, with 
unwonted strength, 'You are not going to leave me 1 ? 
Don 't go so soon ! ' 

'She then turned to her friends and said: 'You 
think I am delirious, but I am not. I was lying here 
praying just now, and two angels in female form 
came to the door. One of them entered and came to 
my bed, and stood there by you. Didn't you see her? 



216 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Oh, she was the loveliest being that mortal eyes ever 
beheld! You know how I have been suffering, but 
my suffering is over now, the pains have all left me. 
The angel laid her velvety hand upon my body, and 
on my limbs, and the touch instantly relieved me. 
I am already well of my sickness, and will be up in 
a few days. It was to the angel that I was speaking, 
When you moved and spoke to me she left me, and 
passed out at the door by which she entered. ' 

- ' There were no indications of delirium. Her mind 
was cis clear and vigorous as could be expected in 
one so prostrated by long sickness. The next morn- 
ing found her in an improved condition, and her 
health was very soon entirely restored. But not for 
a moment did she lose the sweet impression of that 
vision of the night. During convalescence, and 
through the subsequent years of health, it has lin- 
gered with her as a precious memory; and she looks 
forward in the confident hope of greeting her good 
angel when she passes within the veil." 

Spiritual Perceptions at Death.— Death, by annull- 
ing the physical powers, is heralded by a state of 
clairvoyance; and, under favorable circumstances, 
the spiritual faculties are awakened in a remarkable 
de.gi ee. 

A. gentleman says that, during partial drowning, 
*'he saw, as if in a wide field, the acts of his being, 
from the first dawn of memory to the moment of en- 
tering the water. They were all grouped and ar- 
ranged in the order of succession in which they hap- 
pened, and he read the whole volume of existence 
at a glance: nay, its incidents and entities were pho- 
tographed on his mind, limned in light, and the pan- 
orama of the battle of life lay before him." 

"Miss Nancy Bailey, of Merrimac, formerly em- 
ployed in the factories here, visited Nashua last week, 
for the purchase of a wedding dress, bonnet, bridal 
cake, etc., preparatory to her marriage on Wednes- 
day next. She had completed her purchases, and 
was on her way to the depot, on Saturday evening, 
when the cars left. She therefore returned to the 
house of a friend, Mrs. Mitchell, on Canal street, near 
the Jackson Corporation. About half-past three on. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 217 

Sunday afternoon, as she sat at the window, she threw 
up both hands, exclaiming, 'Why, there is Mr. Drew!' 
(the name of the gentleman to whom she was to be 
married, and who is a resident of Concord, Vt) Mrs. 
Mitchell went to another window^ but no one was in 
sight. At this moment a crash of glass called her 
attention to Miss Bailey, who had fallen forward 
against the window. Help was instantly called. She 
was placed upon a bed, and soon expired. 

"Miss Bailey was about twenty-six years old, and 
latter had not been in perfect health." 

Normal Impressibility Preferable to That Induced. 
— There is always incompleteness and imperfection 
in sensitiveness produced by the methods previously 
stated. The state may be induced by various means, 
but the most reliable is the normal organization which 
bestows sensitiveness and health at the same time. 
Sensitiveness is common to all individuals; it only 
varies in degree. It apears in intuition, discrimina- 
tion of character, and many other forms. It depends 
on the delicacy of the nervous system — the more deli- 
cately this is toned, the greater its liability to disease ; 
and hence the majority of sensitives suffer more or less 
from pain. Perfect health is essential to the highest 
order of impressibility. Abstaining for a time from 
food or contact with the world conduces to sensitive- 
ness of the nervous system, but, carried beyond nar- 
row limits, introverts the mind on itself, and destroys 
the essential conditions. This state is often seen in 
the insane, who are usually highly and painfully im- 
pressible ; but impressions of their own minds are 
often received as foreign, and strange hallucinations 
result. 

The body must be pure. When inflamed with an 
improper diet, or saturated with stimulants and nar- 
cotics, the mind, reciprocating the physical condition 
thus created, is a seething mass of passions, a maga- 
zine which a spark may explode, and not willingly do 
the pure spirits approach. The prophets of old fasted 
and dieted, that they might gain immortal inspira- 
tion ; they ordered their lives in purity, that they 
might allow the invisible world the closer to approach 
them? Be assured that, although, for want of better, 



21S THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

all mediums are employed, sooner or later those who 
are not lifted out of the moral sloughs into which 
they have fallen will be discarded, and only those who 
possess an upright character will be reserved for the 
noble office. 

Desire for Mediumship.— Such is a general view of 
the conditions favorable to mediumship. It is not a 
gift to a few, but is possible to all. Obedience to its 
essential requirements, an honest purpose, a pure 
heart, are demanded of those who would attain its 
highest walks. 

How to Become a Medium by Passivity.— You may 
have natural powers as yet unawakened, or you may 
be capable of becoming mediumistic after sufficient 
care for the result. As the law of magnetic control is 
the same, whether mortal or spirit be the operator, 
the same passivity must be observed by the medium. 
Sitting in circles is the best of all means, especially 
if a medium already developed be present. Retiring 
alone at a certain hour is also a good discipline. 
Anxiety to receive communications is among the 
greatest obstacle to success. Pray for the best gifts, 
and according to your possibilities your prayer will 
be answered; for remember that the dear departed 
are as desirous as yourselves to converse, and will 
avail themselves of every opportunity to do so. Re- 
member, that, though they avail themselves of every 
channel, the noble angels of light love best to ap- 
proach the pure in heart and pure in body. 

Influence of Individuals on the Communications.— 
The presence of some persons wholly prevents com- 
munications. Often in circles a single word, or the 
nearer approach of a particular person, wholly inter- 
rupts the spirit-control. This occurs even when the 
offending person is a near and dear friend of the 
spirit purporting to communicate. Some persons 
have remarked, and very naturally, too, that, if the 
spirit were the one it claimed to be, it would certainly 
continue its communications. They do not under- 
stand the delicacy of tone existing between the me- 
dium and spirit, or the wonderful fragility of the 
conditions necessary for communications. It is not 
that the medium or the spirit is offended, but it be- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 2 ID 

e^rnes impossible to proceed. To draw an illustra- 
tion from the physical world, take the effect of cer- 
tain vapors on the processes of photography. Prof. 
Draper says that the artist often fails in taking 
daguerreotypes most inexplicably. All conditions 
apparently are perfect, yet no distinct impression is 
made. This will always result if the minutest quan- 
tity of the vapor of iodine, bromine, chlorine, or other 
negative substance, is present. So sensitive is the 
plate to their vapors, that he recommends never to 
leave those substances in the same room with the 
camera. 

The brain of the medium and the aura by which 
communication is held are far more sensitive than the 
photographic plate to the presence of negative bodies. 
The harsh word, the suggestion of trickery and fraud, 
disturb the medium in the circle far more than when 
in a normal condition; for he is, by his mediumship, 
thrown into the most susceptible state his organism 
will allow, and the least inharmony affects his nerves 
with greater force. 

State Negative to Mediumship.— Incredulity, or a 
reasoning skepticism, produces no ill result; but big- 
otry, snev ring unbelief, and a rude curiosity, can 
never be gratified with satisfactory communications. 
Persons with such characteristics, if they are able to 
communicate at all, must do so with spirits of their 
own grade — spirits who are not to be repelled by their 
insolence, and who are of unreliable character; and, 
thereby, such inquirers may be led to repudiate the 
whole matter. 

There is a physical state negative to mediumship; 
and in a circle it acts directly against "control." 
This may be independent of mentality, and is of a 
purely constitutional character ; and mediums may 
fall into it by exhaustion. For this reason there are 
times when the spirit world is able to approach much 
nearer than at other seasons. Besides a flood-tide 
there is: an ebb-tide of inspiration. It results, not 
from the fault of the departed, but from the de- 
ficiency of the medium. 

The investigator, for the same reason, who expects 
least, usually receives most; and it is observable that 



220 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the t tost astounding tests are received when least ex- 
pected. Strong desire and an exacting expectation 
defeat themselves by reacting on the conditions of 
passivity, which are absolutely essential. 

Why Communications Are Contradictory.— There 

are many causes besides the ready one usually as- 
signed — namely, that of evil spirits. By education, 
we have been taught to regard spiritual beings as 
infallible and omniscient. They do understand more 
than we; their views are broader, and their judgment 
more penetrating; but they are otherwise as fallible. 
We ask questions a Deity only can answer; and be- 
cause they make an attempt, and fail, or do not make 
an attempt, we are too ready to refer the deficiency 
to intentional fraud. There is as much diversity 
among spirits as among mortals, and the method of 
communication with them is not perfect. 

First, of the imperfection of the method. If a 
chemist wishes to test an experiment in which deli- 
cate and refined manipulations are necessary, how 
carefully he studies all the involved conditions, and 
how accurately he attempts to fulfill them ! Even 
then, employing substances he can see and feel, he 
often fails. But of the spiritual elements little or 
nothing is positively known, and it is impossible for 
a circle to fulfill every requirement. The members 
of it deal with emanations too subtile for the senses, 
yet inconceivably susceptible. Can it be thought 
strange that circles meet with disappointment ? 

The second consideration is explained by a correct 
view of spirit-life. A thousand million people toil 
and strive on earth ; the rich, by depressing the poor, 
strive to grow richer; the poor take vengeance on 
their oppressors. On one hand are the savages of 
civilization, the law-breakers; on the other, the mer- 
ciless, artificial law, gibbets the offender. On every 
side is war, deception, falsehood, jealousy, passion, rnge, 
hypocrisy, bigotry; and the dark parent of all this 
foul brood — ignorance. \11 of these pass into the 
spirit-world unchanged, and that world thus is a re- 
flection of this. Hence, simp'y becau-!3 a spirit com- 
municates, is no evidence of the truthfulness or value 
of such communication. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 221 

Responsibility of Mediumship.— The position of the 
medium is one of greatest responsibility. As the 
clearest mountain stream is contaminated by passing 
through fens and sloughs on its way to the sea, so 
the purest spiritual truths are distorted in their trans- 
mission through an impure or imperfect medium. It 
is a terrible force with which he deals. He should 
not venture to play with the lightning unless he un- 
derstands it laws. If he be not conscientious and 
honestly desirous of knowledge, it is better for him 
to stand aloof. Reflection, thought, is the gateway 
of intuition. The gods love the worker. 

"Pray for the best gifts," and improve such as are 
given you, in the gent'e spirit of humility, and with 
earnest striving for improvement. It is not well to 
scorn mundane means; for, so far as their knowledge 
extends, men are more practical teachers than are 
spirits, and it is not to supply a royal road to knowl- 
edge for indolence that communication is held. If 
mediumship does not ennoble you, you are the worse 
for it. 

Do not suppose that the spiritual agency is to fur- 
nish an easy road to learning, or that it will elevate 
you without effort on your own part. The mortal au- 
thor is of equal authority with the spirits, and in some 
paths may be even more valuable. Written language 
has preserved the thoughts of ages, and none can 
avoid the labor of their acquisition. If you enter 
this great field determined to make the truth your 
own, and to excel in your search, your impressibility 
will be of the greatest service ; and, with the care and 
wisdom of a father or teacher, your spirit-friends will 
guide and direct you. The higher the mental cul- 
ture you attain to, the more impressible you become 
to unrecognized truths ; and, receiving them, you can 
gain a better understanding of them, and give them 
clearer expression. The medium can be an automa- 
ton, a machine for communication, without receiving 
more benefit to himself than does the planchette when 
it writes ; he can enter the sphere of ideas only by the 
culture of his intellect. 

Cultivation of Mediumship.— The prevalent concep- 
tion of mediumship is : A state of passivity in which 



222 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the individual can be used by spirit intelligences as 
an instrument, and as such, of necessity, the medium 
is wholly irresponsible. As a general statement, this 
view outlines the truth, but is insufficient and mis- 
leading, and conveys an inadequate, unsatisfactory 
and erroneous impression of the phases and conditions 
of spirit control. 

The faculty or state of mediumship is not a freak 
of nature, nor a gift from a divine source, but, like 
the senses, is common to all human beings. As the 
senses vary in different individuals, and at different 
times in the same individual, so sensitiveness varies. 
Some persons have exquisitely keen sight, while in 
others it is dim ; some hear the slightest sounds, while 
others can hear only the loudest reports; some catch 
the faintest perfumes, while others are able to sense 
only the most pungent odors. In the same manner, 
while all possess the quality of sensitiveness, in some 
it is dormant; in others it is indistinctly blended with 
their physical senses, while in a few it is dominant. 
It is a faculty capable of cultivation, and also of 
nearly complete extinction. 

There are two methods of its cultivation: The 
first is what may be called the negative or passive, by 
which the medium is led to merge his identity in that 
of the controlling intelligences, and become a mere 
puppet to do their bidding. 

Astonishing results are often produced by this 
method, but the medium yields his individuality, and 
becomes the sport of unknown and irresponsible in- 
fluences. The passive condition which allows pure 
spiritual beings to come en rapport with such, opens 
wide the portals for the approach of the low and de- 
praved, and what is of more vital consequence, to 
mortals of every grade. The position which such 
mediums at last attain is one of great danger. They 
have lost self-control, the power of will, and are as 
magnetic needles, trembling to every influence, good 
or bad. If a spirit can entrance them and make them 
utter its thoughts, it can compel them to act as it de- 
sires. They may be carefully attended and guarded 
by good intelligences, and their friends may surround 
them, but the time may come when the guard will be 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 223 

broken and the lower influences gain sway. The 
stronger magnetic power of some mortal may lead 
astray, and leave the medium a despised victim of the 
most degrading passions. 

The second method is that of individual growth, 
which may be called the positive. Individuality is 
not yielded, nor the will benumbed. The sensitive 
faculty becomes a means of receptivity instead of pas- 
sivity. It is like a new sense, yielding its proper 
mental stimulus, as the hearing or sight. Such medi- 
umship is strengthened by study and thought. It 
may come unrecognized, or like a flash of light bear 
brilliant thoughts to the mind. The great souls stand- 
ing along the stream of time like beacon flames, light- 
ing the wastes of darkness, were of this class. 
Thought, intense study, self-absorption, unconciously 
to themselves prepared their minds for the inflowing 
of the tide of spiritual intelligence, and also for its un- 
derstanding and radiation. 

Often it is said in sorrow or with a sneer, that if the 
utterances of the trance speaker are those of Web- 
ster or Parker they have lost their wits ; and that the 
prescriptions of once eminent physicians are the re- 
cipes of quacks and pretenders. Think of this sub- 
ject for a moment! Would the spirit Webster fol- 
low the wanderings of a frail woman for the purpose 
of speaking to an audience affected only with won- 
der at his name? Would not the Senate Chamber be 
the most agreeable, and if he had a measure to sug- 
gest, would he not find a receptive mind on the floor 
to whom he could impart it? 

Is it not correct in reason to suppose that the states- 
men of the past will gather at the Capitol, and im- 
part their ideas to those who can at once place them 
before the country ? But it is said in reply, the Sen- 
ators and Representatives are not mediums. True, 
not the passive tools mediums are popularly sup- 
posed to be, but who shall say that the far-reaching 
statesmanship, which at times cuts through the fog 
and darkness, is not impression from a superior 
source? The spirits of statesmen would be drawn 
to those who made government a study, and to them 
would they impart their ideas, 



224 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

In the same manner the spirit of the skillful physi- 
cian returns, not to further the selfish ends of some 
ignorant charlatan, but to the thoughtful practi- 
tioner, and astonishes him with the accuracy of diag- 
nosis or effect of prescriptions which the recipient 
thinks are from his own mind. 

The passive medium may write or speak in verse, 
claiming some great poet as the source, to the disgust 
of those who read or listen, and Spiritualism is 
scorned for the barrenness of thought and rudeness 
of expression. Not so fast. The spirit poet would 
seek the poet, and with responsive soul enlarge and 
beautify his thoughts. When the exquisite verse 
crystallizes, and on winged words departs as a mes- 
senger to the world, the astonished poet trembles with 
delight at the beauty of what he supposes is his own 
creation, while really it is a joint product. 

Hence will be seen the absolute necessity of thor- 
ough culture of all the faculties of the mind conjointly 
and harmoniously with the receptive or sensitive 
state. Mediumship should be a state of exalted con- 
centration, hence mediums have great need of self- 
control and self-reliance. The mistaken ideas of the 
character and requirements of mediumship have 
borne bitter fruits, and it is to be hoped that their 
correct understanding will not only clear away the 
accumulated rubbish, but bear the cause to higher 
grounds. 

Evil Spirits, How to Escape Their Influence.— 
Among savages the word stranger is synonymous 
with enemy, because the members of different tribes 
are, almost of necessity, hostile, and as spirits are 
regarded as members of a different tribe, with in- 
terests and purposes essentially their own, it is not 
strange that all savages regard them as evil. The 
first conception of God, is not as a good, but as an 
evil spirit. "The Hottentots," says Thunborg, "have 
much clearer notions about an evil spirit, whom they 
fear (than a good), believing him to be the occasion 
of sickness, death, thunder, and every calamity that 
befalls them. 

The New Zealanders believe that each form of dis- 
ease is caused by a peculiar God- The Kols of Nag- 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 225 

pore assign all diseases to two causes: the wrath of 
some evil spirit who has to be appeased, or the spell 
of some witch or sorcerer. Cower says the Indian 
" lives in continual apprehension of the unkind at- 
tacks of evil spirits, and to avert them has recourse 
to charms and incantations. 7 ' The West Coast ne- 
groes represent these evil spirits as "black, mischiev- 
ous, and delighting to torment them in various ways." 

Thus, all over the world, the savage is ruled by 
fear, and stands in dread of the influence which he 
believes beings beyond the realm of physical exist- 
ence can exert. 

The increase of knowledge has consigned this su- 
perstition to the category of nursery fables. The 
more science the less superstition. Spiritualism, by 
stimulating the love of the marvelous, has revived 
this old belief and modified its form. 

As the spirit enters the spirit world, just as it 
leaves this, there must be an innumerable host of 
low, uneducated, or, in other words, evil spirits. 

If we believe this and the dependent proposition 
that they are wholly irresponsible, our situation is 
horrible to contemplate. Surrounded by an innu- 
merable host of intelligences bent on doing evil, and 
we without power to resist ! 

The belief in this form is only a short step removed 
above the superstition of the savage. Life becomes 
a w T retched attempt to appease these selfish beings. 
Fear takes the place of integrity; supine waiting of 
action, and existence becomes a burden in efforts to 
propitiate these evil influences, or not to offend them. 

We believe that at times the selfishness which has 
not been subjugated, and undeveloped character, will, 
when the door is open, manifest themselves. That 
they do is as well established as any principle of Spir- 
itualism. But that we are surrounded by an ocean of 
irresponsible evil spirits, who are anxious to commit 
through us some immoral or brutal action, against 
whose influence we have no defence, we unhesitat- 
ingly disavow. There can be no belief carrying with 
it more immoral tendencies, as it casts aside individ- 
ual responsibility and makes a scapegoat of spirits, 
as the ignorance of the past made Satan the sower of 



226 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

evil. The admission is a denial of the fundamental 
principle of Spiritualism that we are responsible only 
to ourselves for ourselves. 

Admitting that evil spirits do come near and in- 
fluence us, they must enter into our atmosphere 
through the gateway we ourselves open to them. 
There must be similarity and correspondence between 
our spiritual sphere which measure our spiritual con- 
dition and theirs_, else we could not recognize their 
presence, or they could have no influence over us. 

There are Spiritualists, who, forgetting this abso- 
lutely essential correspondence, are subdued by their 
belief in the power of evil spirits over their lives, and 
instead of attempting to rise out of the sphere in 
which such influence can be exerted, cast about them 
in childish endeavors to avert the malign purposes 
of their invisible enemies. 

Dismal spectacle of an enlightened man of the twen- 
tieth century returning to the abject superstitions of 
the savage, and abasing himself in childish fear ! 

Some return to the belief of the primitive medicine 
man, and refer the pangs of disease to evil spirits. 
As like attracts like, their own spiritual state is 
shown by the communications made through them. 
It is advisable to urge such people to cast the un- 
cleanliness out of themselves, and thus cease to at- 
tract the influences they fear. Such belief is not 
harmless, but positively debasing. Man should not 
be a puppet in the hands of irresponsible beings. 
1 'Evil spirits" may influence to evil thoughts and 
deeds, but the conditions must first exist in the re- 
cipient 's mind. If the medium is not in the receptive 
state ; if he is above the sphere of evil, he may safely 
bid defiance to the whole universe of ' ' elementaries, ' ' 
hobgoblins, and "spirits of the damned!" 

Inspiration Influenced by the Channel Through 
Which It Flows. — There is a lingering superstition 
that spiritual beings are infallible authority; that in- 
spiration, as it is of divine origin, partakes of its 
source, and the divine cannot err. In the earlier days 
of Spiritualism the trust placed in communications 
was more unquestioning that at present, and was 
often productive of undesirable results. When the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 22? 

over confiding were met with contradictions and er- 
rors, the fabric of their faith was shaken, and often 
from believing all, they rejected all. Had they under- 
stood the method by which superior intelligences com- 
municate, and the difficulties that must be surmount- 
ed, they would have wondered how it were possible 
for those intelligences to have even imperfectly ex- 
pressed their thoughts. A telegraphic current may 
be sent over the wire by the most expert operator, 
but if there is a break in the line ; if there is contact 
with another conductor, or if the receiving instru- 
ment is not properly adjusted, there will be no mes- 
sage received, or a distorted one. In the telegraph 
•air these subtile conditions are known and nicely ad- 
justed. The operator sends the current and the re- 
ceiving instrument responds. Even then there are 
errors, and at times blunders, such as have sent rail- 
way trains to destruction. No one ever adduces such 
errors as evidence against the existence of the tele- 
graph. The errors are constantly eliminated by 
greater care and more perfect appliances. 

When we consider the method of inspiration or 
communication, we shall more readily understand 
how the character of the medium must affect the com- 
munication. The brightest and purest mountain 
stream leaping from the rocks, in mists reflecting the 
rainbow, by passing through earthy channels, be- 
comes stained and muddy, partaking of the character 
of the soil over which it flows. Again as it winds 
across the meadow, reflecting the flowers growing on 
its banks, and slaking the thirst of the kine, it be- 
comes purified and clear as the sky it reflects. 

A medium is controlled by a spirit in the same man- 
ner that a magnetic subject is influenced by an opera- 
tor. Often in the case of the latter, the operator will 
make the subject act as he wishes, or utter the 
thoughts he wills him to speak. The latter feat is diffi- 
cult, and not often ventured in public ; yet it is possi- 
ble, and by practice the subject can be made to do so 
with remarkable exactness. This applies to ideas, 
and while these are nearly always received correctly, 
there is a tendency on*the part of the subject to clothe 
them in his own language. If the idea is -outside the 



228 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

limits of his knowledge, he does not catch the full 
meaning, and by his expression shows that he does 
not comprehend it, but repeats as a parrot. It is pos- 
sible for a sensitive to be under such strong and per- 
fect control that he can be used as an instrument, and 
write or speak without imparting his personality 
more than the pen gives character to the thoughts it 
indites. But this must be of rare occurrence, and im- 
pressions are given by stimulation of the mind, far 
more frequently than by its hypnotic dominancy. 
The ideas are impressed, and the medium is left to 
give them expression. If of a character far su- 
perior to his education or understanding he will ut- 
terly fail to make them intelligible. This is often 
seen in spirit writings and trance speaking. The un- 
thinking sneer at what to them is meaningless rub- 
bish, but if we look deeper, we shall discover evi- 
dences of great thoughts vainly struggling for expres- 
sion. The medium's mind receives but fails to com- 
prehend, and is at a loss for words to give expression. 
There is a jumble of high-sounding phrases, but the 
subtle thought has escaped. 

Again we ask, is the tune a master plays on a mu- 
sical instrument affected by the instrument? If Pa- 
ganini should come to earth and be given a toy violin, 
would he be expected to draw from it divine melody ? 
Oh, no, we would say, he is indeed a wonderful mu- 
sician if he makes pleasing melody with such imper- 
fect means, He brings its discordant strings into 
harmony as no other touch can do, and makes them 
give forth all the music there is in them. It is a won- 
derful performance, and we ask ourselves what would 
it have been had he one of his own skilfully-con- 
structed and perfect instruments? We are rejoiced 
that he condescended to touch the half-strung violin, 
and overlook the false notes and discords made by 
the failure of the strings, or want of resonance in the 
body of the instrument. So we are thankful for even 
imperfect messages, knowing the difficulties the spirit 
intelligences have to meet. 

Ideas are most readily impressed. The exact gar- 
niture of words is given when the sensitive is capable 
of receiving it. Names, dates, events, being of an ar- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 229 

bitrary character, are more difficult, and hence the 
frequent failures in giving such "tests." Often the 
vagueness with which they are sought defeats the ob- 
ject of the investigator. 

It is because inspiration partakes of the character 
of the channel through which it flows that it becomes 
of vital importance to purify and ennoble the mind 
of the medium. His thoughts should flow in channels 
parallel to his inspiration; then the latter becomes an 
excitive, stimulating the mental faculties, and making 
them capable of doing more than their normal work. 
It becomes a powerful educational force. To illus- 
trate : If an inventor departed to the spirit world, 
and having some invention with which to benefit man- 
kind, wished to impart it, he could not do so through 
an ignorant boor, unless he could induce absolute au- 
tomatic trance, which would be scarcely possible. He 
would lind inventors with minds turned in the same 
direction as his own, with whom he could become en 
rapport, and by stimulating their minds impart his 
ideas. They would not be conscious of any superior 
power, and would refer the result to their own un- 
aided mentality. Possibly he would find a subject in 
one who had never exercised his inventive talents, but 
in whom they were latent, and only awaiting a stim- 
ulant. 

Few comprehend the susceptibility of orators, 
writers, musicians, and artists to the influence from 
spirit life. Their oddities, eccentricities, and erratic 
actions are referable to their controls. It is unfortu- 
nate for them that they do not recognize this influ- 
ence, duly cultivate it, and thus become brilliant ex- 
amples of inspiration. , 

The spirit poet, if he would sound the lyre, must 
have a poet for a medium, else his verse will sink into 
unmeaning drivel. That medium may or may not be 
a Laureate ; may or may not have ever written a verse 
of poetry, but in his mental fibre he must have the 
poetic temperament. 

Hence investigators must not expect too much of 
communications ; and must look elsewhere for them 
than to professed mediums. 

The exquisite measure of poetry, the words of burn- 



230 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

ing eloquence, the wisdom of laws, the almost reason- 
ing mechanical inventions, how much of the thought 
entering into these has come from a higher sphere, 
and how much is referable to the receiving mind, are 
intricate and unanswerable questions. 

But enough is known to show the wonderful power 
and invaluable quality of sensitiveness, when under- 
stood and cultivated along the proper lines of devel- 
opment. 

This lesson would not be complete were the in- 
stances of phenomenal mediumship omitted. Such 
mediums are centres of spiritual force, and receptive 
in full measure. A few instances only can be pre- 
sented, but others will be readily suggested to the 
reader. 

Napoleon Bonaparte was the receptive instrument 
under the guidance of those who understood the art 
of war. He knew that he was guided by superior be- 
ings. Their work was to break the chains of feudal 
bondage. It was fraught with suffering and ruin, but 
it was the only method possible, and before the re- 
sult was fully reached the great chieftain became, 
through his arrogance and selfishness, unsusceptible, 
and weakly met his fate. 

The story of Joan of Arc most beautifully illus- 
trates this view of mediumship. 

Tennyson for a long time poured forth a tide of 
song, exquisite and pure as the asphodels which bloom 
on the borders of the evergreen shores of immor- 
tality. He fails not to speak of this assistance. 

Paganini is one of the most brilliant illustrations 
of this form of mediumship. He was named the ' ' su- 
pernatural fiddler," not on account of his marvelous 
playing, but because he declared that every night he 
was regaled by a concert of "hobgoblin music," and 
never played anything in public that he had not first 
heard rehearsed in. this way. He played that which 
he had already heard, much better performed, how 
or by whom, "he scarcely even dared to guess." 

The mind of Dickens attracted and received a flood 
of thought from those who accepted the story as the 
best means of impressing truth, and in the pro- 
foundly sensitive state in which he wrote, the ideas 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 231 

became embodied in and evolved the unique charac- 
ters of his pages. 

Edison furnishes an example of the inventor, recep- 
tive to the influence of inventive genius transcending 
his own. 

The concentration of mind in one direction, which 
an undivided pursuit calls for, is a primary and essen- 
tial condition of sensitiveness, and prepares the mind 
to receive. 

This "unconscious mediumship" has been an im- 
portant factor in history, and is destined to become 
still more influential. They may not be such brilliant 
examples, but there will be larger numbers, and while 
in the past generations have gone with only a single 
example or none at all, the future will have countless 
numbers. 

A large amount of speculation has been indulged in 
regarding Obsession, so-called, whether it was really 
the controls of a spirit, or referable to psychological 
causes more or less known. If we admit that spirits 
can control sensitives, then obsession is only a more 
positive form of control. When such control is ex- 
ercised by good beings, no harm can result, and the 
term is generally used when low and degrading in- 
fluences are represented. The class of intelligences, 
called by A. J. Davis "Diakka," and by Dr. Peebles 
"Gadarenes," have strong psychological power, be- 
ing in closer contact with earthly conditions, as is 
proven by the experience of all those who have inves- 
tigated the subject experimentally. The result of ob- 
session depends on the character of the obsessing 
spirit. Whenever mediums surrender their will they 
are obsessed ; that is, controlled by wilL not their own, 
and placing their trust on an unknown power, stand 
on dangerous ground. It may be that the controlling 
spirit is better and wiser than they, or it may be faith- 
less and selfish. 

Possessed by a Spirit for a Year.— In the Watseka 
ease, which has become famous, a spirit friend took com- 
plete possession of the medium, and for a year the medi- 
um had no conscious existence. Therewastheobjectof 
coming into close relation with the obsessing spirit's 
family, and at the end of the appointed time, the me- 



232 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

dium was restored to full possesion. It was a beau- 
tiful illustration of spiritual laws, and had a happy 
ending; but we are appalled at the consequences 
which this instance shows to be possible, for a selfish 
and brutal spirit to gain the same control when the 
conditions are furnished. It further shows the neces- 
sity of understanding the laws and conditions of sen- 
sitiveness and control, that the dangers may be 
guarded against. 

I introduce some instances which have come under 
my own observation, from the many more or less im- 
portant, as illustrating two distinct phases. 

Uncontrollable Desire to Kill.— I was sitting with a 
circle of friends around a large walnut dining-table, 
which was moving in response to questions. The in- 
telligence claimed to be an Indian, and to the request 
said he would sketch his own portrait, by my hand. 
I held a piece of chalk, the size of a small marble, and 
automatically my hand drew a grotesque portrait. 
We all laughed, and my father, who had quitted the 
table and seated himself on the opposite side of the 
room, said, "It looks like Satan." 

Instantly my mind, from light and pleasant 
thoughts, was changed to fierce and unutterable 
hatred. Anger turned the light to bloody redness, 
and to kill was an uncontrollable desire, under which 
my hand threw the chalk with the precision of a bul- 
let, hitting the offender in the center of the forehead 
with a force that shivered the chalk in pieces. Had 
it been larger, serious consequences would certainly 
have resulted. Of course, the seance was at an end, 
but I did not escape that terrible influence for the 
evening. 

The study of this seance showed me the danger 
which menaced the sensitive, and gave the key to a 
class of crimes which hitherto had remained inex- 
plicable. 

We often hear of those who have been trusted for 
years, and models of honesty, fidelity, and moral up- 
rightness, without warning, committing some heinous 
crime against property or person. They usually say 
they were seized by a sudden and uncontrollable im- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 233 

pulse, and regretted their acts as soon as accom- 
plished. 

Suicidal Obsession.— To apply this to the suicidal 
desire so prominent in the insane, I introduce another 
personal illustration. 

While sitting in a circle at the home of the vener- 
ble Dr. Underhill, I was for the time in an almost un- 
conscious state, and recognized the presence of sev- 
eral Indian spirits. The roar of the Cuyahoga river 
over the rapids could be heard in the still evening 
air, and to my sensitive ear was very distinct. Sud- 
denly I was seized with the desire to rush away to 
the rapids, and throw myself into the river. As I 
started up some one caught hold of me, and aroused 
me out of the impressible state I was in, so that I 
gained control of myself. Had the state been more 
profound, and I had once started, the end might have 
been different. The desire remained all the evening. 

I refer the immediate cause of these examples to 
the pernicious influences of sitting in promiscuous 
circles. 

The study of criminology not only reveals vicious 
organizations, but many such organizations are ready 
instruments in the hands of spiritual beings of the 
same development. They are influenced from the 
slightest impressions to complete obsession. They 
will, in many cases, speak of the most horrible crime 
they have committed with indifference, not realizing 
their connection therewith, or will mention that they 
were hurried on by an irresistible influence. 

The following, from an Ontario newspaper, is given, 
and may be taken as an example of countless others : 

"Young Twitchell, son of the United States Consul, 
who is in jail awaiting trial for burglarizing the Mar- 
tin residence and attempting to murder Mrs. Martin, 
conversed freely this morning with those who called 
upon him. Asked about his actions of Thursday 
morning, he refused to say a word, but stated that 
he had at different times during the week a feeling 
that he wanted to do something desperate. He often 
did things, and after a short time would wonder what 
he did them for. For the last few days he says a feel- 
ing of desperation had been upon him. He knew no 



234 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

cause for it whatever. He denies having read dime 
novels. What reading he had done was in history, 
which he was studying in connection with his college 
course. At present he does not realize the enormity 
of the offense of which he stands charged." 

The Treatment of Obsession.— A young man, in the 
employ of a farmer, became mediumistic, and there 
was great excitement in the neighborhood, and night 
after night circles were held by the eager crowds. 
After a few days he found himself obsessed by a power 
which seemed determined on his destruction. His 
language was dreadful to hear, and if opposed he be- 
came enraged, foamed at the mouth, and sought to 
destroy those who spoke to him. He would run across 
the field, and throw himself against the gate or fence 
with a force which threatened serious injury. 

His trends brought him to me, hoping that they 
might learn how to overcome the fearful influence 
under which he had fallen. No sooner did he see 
me, nearly a fourth of a mile away, than he rushed 
towards me like a wild beast, cursing, raving, and 
foaming at the mouth. At the time I did not know 
anything of the circumstances of the case, but I stood 
firm, and catching his eye held him at bay. I sup- 
posed him to be an escaped maniac, as I saw his 
friends coming in the distance, and as it has been my 
peculiar experience to invariably win the confidence 
of the insane with whom I had been brought in con- 
tact, I had no fears. When his friends came they 
explained his case. There was only one remedy, and 
that was for me to magnetize him, by assistance, and 
thus introduce a superior will in place of that which 
then held him. I exerted all my strength of purpose, 
and after an hour found him obedient to my desires. 
I told his friends he was safe for two days, and then 
he must visit me. He became free from the influence, 
and they neglected to return, and on the evening he 
became again obsessed. The third day he came, 
wilder and fiercer than at first, and barely did I suc- 
ceed in controlling him. My spirit-friends told them 
that he was in utmost danger, and if the obsession 
again occurred they could do no more, and above all 
things cautioned them against sitting in circles, 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 235 

That very evening, however, feeling restored and 
pressed to do so, he sat, and the obsession returned. 
This time I had not the least influence over him, 
and the obsessing spirit mocked my futile efforts. 
With brief intervals this continued for some years un- 
til the death of the victim. It was the most decided 
case of obsession I ever witnessed. It would have 
passed for insanity, and I have no doubt that many 
cases which are treated as madness would readily 
yield to magnetism, being strictly referable to obses- 
sion. 

"While visiting, recently, a promient insane asylum, 
I was thoroughly convinced that a great injustice was 
being done to many patients, whose only difficulty 
was a sensitiveness which made them involuntary 
agents. The cure of such cases might be readily ef- 
fected by magnetic treatment. 

The more I investigate impressibility, or the sensi- 
tive state, the more charity I have for those who are 
led astray, or become obsessed as madmen or crim- 
inals. They should be judged by another standard 
than that which is applied to ordinary criminals. 



CHAPTER X. 
MEDIUMSHIP DURING SLEEP. 



Sleep— Dreams — Somnambulism— Spiritual Communications 
Given in Dreams — Presentiments — Prophetic Dreams — 
Presentiments of Death. 

Sleep.— The rarest occurences are by no means the 
most extraordinary. On the contrary, the most won- 
derful cease to attract attention, because they are 
daily presented. Every night man falls into a state 
resembling death, from which he awakes a resurrected 
spirit. Activity and repose are alternate states of 
the body. During sleep, the waste is reduced to a 
minimum, and the recuperating processes go forward 
with increased activity. This is the external aspect 
of sleep ; but, on attentive study, it exhibits a class of 
phenomena equally astonishing and mysterious with 
those attending the waking hours. It is not a simple, 
but a very complex state. 

Dreams are not susceptible of explanation by a 
common cause. There are dreams originating from 
the disturbed body, a restless mind, fatigue, or the va- 
garies of fever. These have no further significance. 
There are others wherein psychic influences are more 
or less mingled and are discernible, reaching to the 
borders of clairvoyance and purely spirit influence. 
It is not to be assumed that the mind is wiser or has 
greater capacity when asleep than when awake ; yet, 
in the latter class of dreams, it is enabled to do what 
it can not do during its waking moments, and what is 
more it obtains knowledge wholly independent of the 
senses. 

As illustrating what may be called physical dreams, 
which have no meaning beyond the physical condi- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 237 

tions which call them f orth, we take the story of this 
person who, with a heated flat-iron, scorched the bed- 
clothing. The sleeper affected by the heat and smell 
of the burning woollen, dreamed that the house was 
burned, and she could not escape because her cloth- 
ing was destroyed. 

A French physiologist had many experiments made 
on himself while asleep. An attendant tickled his 
lips with a feather, and he dreamed that a horrible 
mask of pitch was applied to his face. "Eau de Co- 
logne" applied to his nose sent him to dream of a 
perfumer's shop in the streets of Cairo. 

Scientific writers agree that coming physical dis- 
ease is often foreshadowed when so slight as not to 
be detected during waking moments, being recog- 
nized during the more sensitive state of sleep. These 
impressions in dreams usually present themselves as 
symbols. 

The naturalist, Conrad Gesner, dreamed that he 
was bitten on the left side by a serpent. In a day or 
two a carbuncle developed there, which terminated 
his life. 

A lady had a dream in which her sight was ob- 
scured by a mist, and soon after was attacked with a 
disease of the eye. 

Fevers and inflammatory diseases are heralded by 
dreams of fires, and apoplexy and epilepsy by fright- 
ful dreams of being thrown over precipices, torn by 
wild beasts, etc., and should be taken as warning 
symptoms, and preventive measures should be at once 
resorted to. 

On the borderland between physical and psychical 
dreams there of course are those blending the char- 
acters of both, and referable to either cause according 
to the bias of the student. Premonitions of death, 
which are reported in almost every daily paper, are 
of this order. They may be referred to the perception 
of the condition of the body, or to a spiritual source. 
Take the following: 

Fletcher, the divine, had a dream which shadowed 
out his impending dissolution; believing it to be the 
merciful warning of heaven, he sent for a sculptor and 
ordered his tomb. " Begin your work forthwith," he 



23S THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

said, at parting, "there is no time to lose;" and un- 
less the artist had obeyed the admonition, death 
would have proved the quicker workman of the two. 
Whence come these premonitions ? Are they not some 
proof that the angel friends are our constant guard- 
ians, and mercifully prepare the way for our transi- 
tion to the bright spheres beyond ? 

The Florida Times published the following, all par- 
ties being well known and occupying the higher walks 
of life : 

"W. J. Driscoll, superintendent of mails, was a 
warm friend of the late Owen Summers, who took 
a great fancy to Mr. Driscoll's boy, a bright little 
youngster of nearly three years. The Judge fre- 
quently petted him and gave him dainties, and in re- 
turn was fully repaid by the child's admiration. 

"On the night that Judge Summers died, the little 
fellow awoke with a start, followed by a scream, and 
the exclamation, in a voice trembling with terror: 
'Oh, mamma, mamma! Judge Summers says he's 
dead.' 

"The little lad was bathed in cold perspiration. 
He was comforted, and told that he was only dream- 
ing, and after some time was tucked away sound 
asleep in his crib. 

"The next morning the announcement came, start- 
ling the whole community, that Owen Summers was 
dead." 

In this instance is not the only clear and satisfac- 
tory explanation that the spirit of Owen Summers 
came to the child, and with that super-strength which 
spirits possess immediately after their departure, 
made his presence known? 

The fishing schooner, "Lizzie Griffin,' while off the 
Banks was struck by a storm which left her a help- 
less wreck. The schooner "Ligfrid" was about forty 
miles distant. After the first blow her captain, Pe- 
terson, made sail southward, when he was suddenly 
seized with an impulse that he must change his course, 
and this feeling at last became so great that he 
yielded and steered " sou '-sou '-east. " 
- He then went into his cabin to gain a little needed 
sleep. ThiSj however, he could not gain, and at' last 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 239 

an impulse to go on deck seized him. Rushing up, 
he at once caught sight of the nag of distress on the 
"Lizzie Griffin/' which the men had not seen, and at 
once went to the rescue of the crew. The tremen- 
dous cross seas made this a task of greatest danger, 
but it was accomplished without loss. 

The yielding to the "impulse" which so suddenly 
came upon him, seems to have been the result of a 
dream Captain Peterson had on the 3rd day of Au- 
gust before the storm. In this dream he had pre- 
sented to him the incidents of the rescue, and his first 
exclamation when within hailing distance was, "My 
dream has come true ! ' ' 

If we grant Captain Peterson to be a sensitive, then 
the reception of the "impulse" and the preparatory 
dream require no further explanation. The prayer 
of the distressed crew went out in psychic waves, and 
found in the mind of Captain Peterson a receiving in- 
strument. 

The following from the Atlanta Journal illustrates 
the higher order of dreams, which are accountable 
for only by spiritual interference : 

It was some time in the spring of 1866 that Mr. 
Jethro Jackson went to Resaca to look for the. grave 
of his son. He wished to find the remains, and to 
take them to Griffin and inter them in the family 
burying ground. The comrades who laid young 
Jackson to rest gave the father a description of the 
spot where they had buried him, telling him about the 
rude pine coffin, made from the boards taken from the 
bridge. After many days of tireless search, Mr. Jack- 
son failed to locate his son's grave, and returned to 
his home in Griffin. 

A few nights after his return he dreamed that his 
son came to him and pointed out the spot where he 
was buried. The dream was like a vision. He saw 
his son standing beside the bed, and heard him say: 

"Father, I am buried under a mound which was 
thrown up by the Yankees after I was killed. You 
will know the mound when you see it by the poke- 
berry bushes growing upon it. Go and take me up 
and carry me home to mother." 

So strong an impression did this dream make upon 



240 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Mr. Jackson that he returned at once to Resaca, tak- 
ing with him one of the comrades who had buried his 
son. The mound was found just as described in the 
dream, and the pokeberries were growing upon it. 
An excavation made made, and a few feet below the 
earth the rough pine coffin was found, and in it were 
the remains of young Jackson. He was fully iden- 
tified, not only by the coffin and the shoes, but by the 
name which was on his clothing. 

The Weekly Chronicle, Newcastle, England, pub- 
lishes the following narrative as related by Captain 
John Cracknell, who for fifty years has been one of 
those who have gone down to the great sea in ships : 

"I was commanding the l Grenadier' in 1883, and 
on September 2nd, we were caught in a terribly heavy 
gale. I had been up on the bridge, full of anxiety, 
all day and all night, and when next morning broke 
I went to lie down on the couch in my chart-room for 
a little spell of rest. I fell asleep almost immediately, 
and had a dream. I dreamt that I saw a steamer la- 
boring in a fearful sea, and whilst I looked I recog- 
nized her as a vessel named the 'Inchultha/ which 
was commanded by my eldest son George, whose fig- 
ure I could distinctly make out, swathed in oilskins 
upon the bridge. The vessel was being cruelly 
knocked about by the surges, and I held my breath in 
my sleep as I watched her. Suddenly a towering bil- 
low came rushing down upon her, and swept like an 
avalanche of foam over her stern. She staggered 
like a wounded deer, and before she could recover 
herself a second wave, heavier even than the first, 
careered wildly over her. I saw her dark outline lin- 
gering a moment amid the boiling yeast, then her 
funnel and mast settled out of sight, and she had van- 
ished from off the raging waters. I woke with a 
start, and, rushing upon the bridge, cried to the mate, 
'My boy is drowned! my boy is drowned!' And 
from that day to this the vessel has been nevermore 
heard of." 

In this instance prolonged anxiety and weariness 
produced a highly receptive state in the sleep which 
followed, and his mind readily received the impres- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 241 

sions from the mind of his son in the moment of his 
supreme disaster. 

It is related that a lady, blind from birth, was en- 
abled in dreams to see objects distinctly and describe 
them accurately ; yet, on post mortem examination, it 
was found the optic nerves were completely de- 
stroyed. Clairvoyance only can explain facts like 
this, and the following, related by Harriet Marti- 
neau, of an aged blind lady from birth, who yet saw in 
her sleep, and in her waking state correctly described 
the clothing of individuals. This fact has many hear- 
ings. If dreams are only renewed cerebral impres- 
sions, and we do not dream of anything of which we 
do not already know the elements, as the Spencerian 
materialists teach, how account for dreams revealing 
objects when the eye has never received a ray of 
light ? It can be done successfully only by admitting 
that the mind, during sleep, passes into a superior 
state and acquires new capabilities ; and does not such 
an admission strike at the basis of the vaunted sys- 
tem? If mind can thus rise above and pass beyond 
its material or physical existence, can it be presumed 
that it is simply the result of the elements of its phys- 
ical existence ? If the mind can appreciate color and 
form, without ever having received knowledge of 
such qualities through the eye, then it is independent 
of the sense of vision for its knowledge. 

This independence of the mind is farther shown by 
the strange phenomena dreams present in their an- 
nihilation of time and space, thus trenching on the 
domain of spirit-existence. Every one will have re- 
marked this in his own experience. 

Dr. Abercrombie speaks of a friend, who, in a 
dream, crossed the Atlantic, and spent two weeks in 
America. On re-embarking he thought he fell over- 
board, and awoke to find that he had been asleep but 
ten minutes. 

Macnish says that he dreamed he made a voyage to 
India, spending several days in Calcutta, continued 
his journey to Egypt, visited the cataracts and pyra- 
mids, and held confidential interviews with Moham- 
med Ali, Cleopatra, and >Saladin, the whole journey 



242 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

apparently occupying several months; but he slept 
only an hour. 

Addison says : ' ' There is not a more painful action 
of the mind than invention; yet in dreams it works 
with such ease and activity that we are not sensible 
when the faculty is employed. For instance, I be- 
lieve every one, some time or other, dreams that he is 
reading a book, papers, or letters ; in which case in- 
vention prompts so readily that the mind is imposed 
on, and mistakes its own suggestion for the composi- 
tion of another. 5 ' 

Coleridge composed "Christabel" and "Kubla 
Khan" in sleep; and Tartini dreamed that the Devil 
came, and played what he afterwards wrote out as the 
"Devil's Sonata." Dr. Franklin solved difficult po- 
litical problems, and Dr. Gregory obtained impor- 
tant scientific ideas, in dreams. 

Animals frequently dream, especially the dog, to 
whom man imparts a strong magnetic influence. The 
dog is also sometimes somnambulic, as the following 
anecdote shows : 

' ' I was attracted by a very curious sound from the 
dog, and a strange, fixed look from his eyes, which 
were set, as though glazed in death, and neither 
changed nor quivered in the slightest degree, though 
the blaze of a cheerful wood fire shone brightly upon 
them. After stretching his limbs several times, and 
whining, he gradually arose to his feet, and assumed 
the attitude of pointing, in every particular, just as 
I had seen him a hundred times in the field. When 
my surprise had a little abated I spoke to the dog, 
but he manifested no consciousness, nor took the 
slightest notice of my voice, though several times re- 
peated, and it was only when I touched him that the 
spell was broken, when, running several times round 
the room, he quietly resumed his place before the 
fire. " [ Quoted by S. B. Brittan . ] 

Somnambulism is to sleep what the magnetic 
state is to wakefulness, and presents a parallel series 
of phenomena. 

Many instances are recorded, and have been 
brought within the observation of many, that some 
persons will answer questions correctly when they are 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 243 

soundly asleep. Such can be made to dream any- 
thing desired by whispering in their ears. They, in 
other words, naturally fall into a magnetic slumber, 
differing only from that artificially induced by the 
superior vividness of the impressions of the latter. 
As an illustration, take the following facts from Ma- 
cacio: [Reports et Discussions. Paris, 1833. Quoted 
in "Footfalls on the Boundaries of Another World."] 

"In his work on sleep, he relates a striking exam- 
ple as having occurred in his presence. It was in the 
case of a certain patient of a friend of his, Dr. Gro- 
mier — a married lady, subject to hysterical affections. 
Finding her one day a prey to settled melancholy, 
he imagined the following to dissipate it. Having 
cast her into a magnetic sleep, he said to her, men- 
tally, 'Why do you lose hope? You are pious, the 
Holy Virgin will come to your assistance. Be sure 
of it.' Then he called up in his mind a vision, in 
which he pictured the ceiling of the chamber re- 
moved, groups of cherubim at the corners, and the 
Virgin, in a blaze of glory, descending in the midst. 
Suddenly the somnambule was affected with ecstasy, 
sank on her knees, and exclaimed, in a transport of 
joy ; 'Ah, my God! So long — so very long— I have 
prayed to the Holy Virgin; and now, for the first 
time, she comes to my aid ! ' " 

Spiritual Communications Given in Dreams.— The 
following facts are presented as illustrations and 
proofs of spirit-intercourse during sleep. No philoso- 
phy but that accepting direct spiritual influence can 
explain them. 

"A farmer in one of the western counties of Eng- 
land was met by a man whom he had formerly em- 
ployed, and who again asked for work. The farmer, 
rather with a view to be relieved from his importunity 
than with any intention of assisting him, told him he 
would think of it, and send word to the place where 
the man told him he should be found. Time passed on, 
and the farmer entirely forgot his promise. One night, 
however, he suddenly started from his sleep, and, 
awaking his wife, said he felt a strong impulse to set 
off immediately to the county-town some thirty or forty 
miles distant ; but why, he had not the least idea. He 



244 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

endeavored to shake off the impression, and went to 
sleep again; but awoke a second time with such a 
strong conviction that he must start that instant, that 
he directly rose, saddled his horse, and set off. On 
his road he had to cross a ferry, which he could only 
do at one hour of the night, when the mail was carried 
over. He was almost certain that he should be too 
late, but nevertheless rode on, and, when he came to 
the ferry, found, greatly to his surprise, that, though 
the mail had passed over a short time previously, the 
ferryman was still waiting. On his expressing his 
astonishment, the boatman replied, 'Oh, when I was 
on the other side, I heard you shouting, and so came 
back again.' The farmer said he had not shouted; 
but the other repeated his assertion that he had dis- 
tinctly heard him call. Having crossed over, the 
farmer pursued his journey, and arrived at the coun- 
ty-town the next morning. But now that he had 
come there, he had not the slightest notion of any 
business to be transacted, and so amused himself by 
sauntering about the place, and at length entered the 
court where the assizes were being held. The pris- 
oner at the bar had just been, to all appearance, 
proved clearly guilty, by circumstantial evidence, of 
murder: and he was then asked if he had any wit- 
nesses to call in his behalf. He replied that he had 
no friends there : but. looking around the court among 
the spectators, he recognized the farmer, who almost 
immediately recognized in him the man who applied 
to him for work. The farmer was instantly sum- 
moned to the witness-box; and his evidence proved, 
beyond the possibility of a doubt, that, at the very 
hour the prisoner was accused of committing murder 
in one part of the county, he was applying for work 
in another The prisoner was of course acquitted, 
and the farmer found that, urged on by an uncon- 
trollable impulse, which he could neither explain nor 
account for, he had indeed taken his midnight jour- 
ney to some purpose, notwithstanding it had appeared 
so unreasonable and causeless. "This is the Lord's 
doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. ' ' ' 

Presentiments.— There are many cases recorded of 
persons hurrying home impelled by some presenti- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 245 

ment. "Mr. M. Calderhood was once, when absent 
from home, seized with such an anxeity about his fam- 
ily that, without being able in any way to account 
for it, he felt himself impelled to fly to them, and re- 
move them from the house they were inhabiting; one 
wing of which fell down immediately afterwards. No 
notion of such a misforture had ever occurred to him, 
nor was there any reason whatever to expect it; the 
accident originating from some defect in the founda- 
tion." 

A circumstance exactly similar to this is related by 
Stilling, of Professor Bohm, teacher of mathemattics 
at Marburg ■ who, being one evening in company, was 
suddenly seized with a conviction that he onght to 
go home. As, however, he was very comfortably tak- 
ing tea, and had nothing to do at home, he resisted 
the admonition ; but it returned with such force that 
at length he was obliged to yield. On reaching his 
house he found everything as he had left it; but he 
now felt himself urged to remove his bed from the 
corner in which it stood to another; but, as it had 
always stood there, he resisted this impression also. 
However, the resistance was vain ; absurd as it seemed 
he felt he must do it ; so he summoned the maid, and, 
with her aid, drew the bed to the other side of the 
room, after which he felt quite at ease, and returned 
to spend the rest of the evening with his friends. At 
ten o'clock the party broke up, and he retired home 
and went to bed to sleep. In the middle of the night 
he was awakened by a loud crash, and on looking 
out saw that a large beam had fallen, bringing part 
of the ceiling with it, and was lying exactly on the 
spot his bed had occupied. [Univercoelum.] 

A gentleman residing some miles from Edinburgh 
had occasion to pass the night in that city. In the 
middle of the night he dreamed that his house was on 
fire, and that one of his children was in the midst of 
the names. He awoke, and so strong was the impres- 
sion upon his mind, that he instantly got out of bed, 
saddled his horse, and galloped home. In accord- 
ance with his dream, he found his house in flames, and 
arriving in time, saved his little girl, about ten 
months old, who had been forgotten and left in a 
room which the devouring elements had just reached. 



246 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

A clergyman of distinguished ability and truthful- 
ness relates the following. It shows how vividly the 
mind may be impressed with the perception of for- 
eign intelligences, or that it is capable of leaving the 
body, or of acquiring or perceiving through spiritual 
senses, in either case confirming spiritual existence. 

"I was engaged at that time in pursuing theolog- 
ical studies with the Rev. Mr. G., in a village in the 
vicinity of Boston. During the night I seemed to 
enter a place which I had never before seen. I 
walked up the main street, which was shaded with 
large trees, noticing the prominent buildings as I 
passed them. It seemed to be Sunday evening; the 
shops were closed, and all business suspended. The 
street led me to a large building containing a hall. I 
saw horses and carriages in great numbers standing 
near. Entering the hall I found a large andience gath- 
ered. It was a meeting for religious purposes. At 
last the preacher rose up, and his features impressed 
themselves upon me, and his very words, although 
he seemed an utter stranger. The vision made a deep 
impression upon my mind. It seemed not a dream, 
but a- reality. 

"On the Sunday evening ensuing I walked with a 
friend to attend a religious meeting in a neighboring 
village where I had never been. On entering the 
street, it seemed familiar to me, and I remembered 
it to be the place I had seen in a vision a few days 
preceding. Anxious to see if my dream would cor- 
respond with the reality throughout, I pursued the 
path which I seemed to have taken before, till it led 
me to the building, which I at once recognized. En- 
tering it, the hall was familiar; and when the preacher 
arose, I knew him at once. The street, building, and 
preacher corresponded in every particular with those 
impressed on my consciousness during the previous 
vision." 

fl have heard my mother relate an episode of par- 
allel character in her life. She was always highly 
impressible, and was called "our family seer." She 
dreamed that she was traveling over a very mountain^ 
ous country in a wagon. Being fatigued with riding 
she alighted, and walked up a hill, from the summit 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 247 

of which she obtained a charming prospect of a beau- 
tiful river and its valley. 

Three years afterward she was traveling through 
Allegany County, N. Y., became fatigued, alighted, 
and walked. When she came to the summit of the 
hill she thought the prospect familiar ; and all at once 
she remembered her dream. She had been there be- 
fore in spirit, although not in body.] 

If all we know is derived by and through the senses, 
of course knowledge of a scene we are to see three 
years hence must be denied. Ah, materialist ! with 
your sensatory scheme, how do you meet these facts 
of prescience? Is a mind asleep more active than a 
mind awake? We do not want to hear about "un- 
known laws of mind:" but if these facts can be ex- 
plained, let us have the explanation. 

' ' Mr. Robert Curtis, a citizen of Newport, Ind., who 
bears the reputation of being a very honest man, re- 
lated to us the following wonderful statement of facts 
and circumstances: About twenty-eight years ago 
he was very sick, and it was thought by his friends 
and physicians he could not live. Although they 
each and all endeavored to conceal their opinions from 
him, yet he well knew what their views were from 
conversations he overheard. This caused him to feel 
wretchedly. During this state of feeling he dreamed 
that a man came to Richmond who cured him by the 
use of his hands. This made him feel better, and he 
commenced regaining his health, and in the course of 
a few months was able to go to work. About four years 
after he became quite sick again, and from that time 
the state of his health was very poor until cured as 
hereinafter stated. About three weeks before Dr. A. 
J. Higgins came here, he dreamed again that a man 
came to this city, and that he was cured by him in the 
manner above stated. This time he saw the man dis- 
tinctly in a dream, and retained in his memory his 
personal appearance, and knew him to be the same 
man he had dreamed about twenty-eight years ago. 
When Dr. Higgins arrived he was impressed that he 
was the man who had come to cure him. He at once 
repaired to this city, and on seeing Dr. Higgins, rec- 
ognized him as the man whom he had seen in his 



248 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

vision three weeks before. He applied to him for 
treatment, and, sure enough, was cured in the man- 
ner suggested in his dreams. ' ' [Correspondent * ' Re- 
Jigio-Philosophical Journal."] 

The following are related by William Fishbough, 
and are of almost parallel character: 

Mrs. W., a lady of unquestionable veracity, resid- 
ing in Taunton, Mass., informed me that, several 
years ago, a family intimately related to her, removed 
to the State of Ohio. Some time subsequent to their 
removal, the family, by some untoward occurrence 
which I do not remember, was thrown into deep af- 
fliction, which rendered the presence and sympathy 
of Mrs. W. very desirable. About this time Mrs. W. 
had an impressive dream, in which were represented 
to her mind the general condition of the family, the 
appearance and architectural structure of the house 
in which they resided, the species of the trees, and 
the relative positions and appearance of these and all 
other objects near the house. The whole scene, with 
all its minutiae, was, as it were, at one glance vividly 
daguerreotyped upon her mind, although she never 
had the slightest description of the place. On subse- 
quently relating her dream to her friend, who had 
returned from Ohio, he confirmed it as true in every 
particular. 

"Many of our readers will remember the blowing 
up of the steamboat 'Medora, ' at Baltimore, several 
years ago, attended with loss of many valuable lives. 
An authentic account (which I must now relate from 
memory) subsequently appeared in the papers, of a 
sailor, belonging to a small vessel which plied up and 
down the Chesapeake Bay, foreseeing the occurrence, 
with all its essential particulars, in a dream, a night 
or two before it took place. He related his vision to 
his shipmates, who of course deemed it unworthy of 
attention until after they heard of the fate of 
the steamer. The vessel to which the man belonged 
saiied up the bay on the day of the catastrophe; and, 
as she approached the city of Baltimore, a vessel was 
seen lying at anchor in the harbor, with flag at half- 
mast. On seeing this, the man who had had the 
dream immediately exclaimed, 'That's for the 'Me- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 249 

dora!' Strange to say, they found that the 'Me- 
dora' had been blown up, and lives had been destroy- 
ed, precisely, in all essential particulars, as had been 
foreshadowed in the dream." 

• ' The reader will remember the tragedy of the mur- 
der of Mr. Adams by John C. Colt, which took place 
m New York several years ago. Two days before 
the murder of Mr. Adams, his wife dreamed twice that 
he was murdered; and that she saw his body cut to 
pieces > and packed away in a box. The dreams made 
a deep impression upon her mind; and on the disap- 
pearance of her husband, and before he was found, 
she was inconsolable. The facts were precisely in ac- 
cordance with the dream. ' ' 

The following is a condensed account of a case re- 
corded in Sutherland's ' ' Pathetism. " 

"On the night of May 11, 1812, Mr. Williams, of 
Scorrier House, near Redruth, in Cornwall, dreamed 
thrice that he saw a man shoot, with a pistol, the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the lobby of the 
House of Commons. The dreams made a deep impres- 
sion upon his mind, and the next day he related them 
to many of his friends whom he met, describing mi- 
nutely the man whom he had seen assassinated. A 
friend, to whom Mr. Williams related his dream, rec- 
ognized his description of the person assassinated as 
answering precisely to Mr. Perceval, Chancellor of 
the Exchequer, whom Mr. Williams had never seen. 
Shortly afterwards the news came that on the even- 
ing of the 11th of May a man of the name of Belling- 
ham had shot Mr. Perceval in the lobby of the House 
of Commons, precisely as Mr. Williams had dreamed, 
and on the same night. After the astonishment had 
a little subsided, Mr. Williams described most partic- 
ularly the appearance and dress of the man whom he 
saw in his dream nre the pistol, as he had before done 
of Mr. Perceval. About six weeks after, Mr. Will- 
iams, having business in town, went, accompanied by 
a friend, to the House of Commons, where he had 
never before been. Immediately that he came to the 
steps at the entrance of the lobby, he said, 'This place 
is as distinctly within my recollection, in my dream, 
as any room in my house ; ' and he made the same ob- 



250 (THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

servation when he entered the lobby. He then 
pointed out the exact spot where Bellingham stood 
when he fired, and which Mr. Perceval had reached 
when he was struck by the ball, and where and how 
he fell. The dress, both of Mr. Perceval and Belling- 
ham, agreed with the description given by Mr. Will- 
iams, even to the most minute particular." 

"A mother, who was uneasy about the health of a 
child who was out at nurse, dreamed that it had been 
buried alive. The horrid thought woke her, and she 
determined to set off for the place without a moment's 
delay. On her arrival she learned that after a sud- 
den and short illness the child had died, and had just 
been buried. Half frantic from this intelligence, she 
insisted upon the grave being opened, and the moment 
the coffin-lid was raised she carried off the child in her 
arms. He still breathed, and maternal care restored 
him to life. The truth of this anecdote has been war- 
ranted. We have seen the child so wonderfully res- 
cued ; he is now, in 1843, a man in the prime of life, 
and filling an important post." 

The Jesuit Malvenda, the author of a Commentary 
on the Bible, saw one night, in his sleep, a man laying 
his hand upon his chest, who announced to him that 
he would soon die. He was then in perfect health, 
but soon after, being seized with a pulmonary disor- 
der, was carried off. This is told by the skeptic Bayle, 
who relates it as a fact too well authenticated even 
for the apostle of Pyrrhonism to doubt. ' ' 

"Sir Humphrey Davy dreamed one night that he 
was in Italy, where he had fallen ill. The room in 
which he seemed to lie struck him in a very peculiar 
manner, and he particularly noticed all the details of 
the furniture, etc., remarking, in his dream, how un- 
like anything English they were. In his dream, he 
appeared to be carefully nursed by a young girl, 
whose fair and delicate features were imprinted on 
his memory. After some years Davy traveled in 
Italy, and being taken ill there, actually found him- 
self in the very room of which he had dreamed, waited 
upon by the very same young woman whose features 
had made such a deep impression upon his mind. The 
reader need not be reminded of the authenticity of a, 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 251 

statement resting upon such authority, eminent alike 
for truth that would not deceive, and intelligence that 
could not be deceived." 

Brittan thus relates a case of spiritual impressions 
given in a dream: — 

''I made the acquaintance of a Mr. S v who has, in 
several instances, been the recipient of spiritual im- 
pressions, communicated generally during the hours 
of sleep. In the course of our interview, he related 
the following, which is worthy of record. For some 
time he had visited a young lady, whom he had se- 
lected as his companion for life. They had pledged 
their fidelity to each other, and the day on which it 
was proposed to legalize their union was at hand. 

"We were standing on the bank of a stream, whose 
waters, like the current of human life and love, were 
divided, broken, and interrupted by many obstacles, 
when he related its vision and its fulfillment, in sub- 
stance, as follows : He slept, and dreamed of walking 
on the bank of that stream. Suddenly the object of 
his love appeared walking by his side. She was ar- 
rayed in a white flowing dress. A white handkerchief 
was folded under the chin, and tied on top of the 
head. Her countenance was pale as marble. She 
walked by his side for some distance, and finally, ex- 
tending her hand, she said, 'Reuben, I must leave you; 
farewell !' — and anon disappeared. 

"Several days had elapsed when a messenger came 
in great haste to request his immediate presence at the 
residence of his loved one. He obeyed the summons, 
and found her the victim of incurable disease. Her 
stricken form was invested with white apparel, and 
her whole appearance corresponded to his vision. He 
seated himself by her bedside, to watch the irregular 
and feeble pulsations which marked the last efforts of 
expiring nature. At length she held out her hand, 
which He received in his own; and as the spirit went 
out of its fallen temple, there was a faint utterance 
from the lips of mortality, and the attentive ear 
caught the last words: 'Reuben, I must leave you; 
farewell!' " 

Prophetic Dreams.— If the preceding facts point to 
the communion of spiritual intelligences, the follow- 



252 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ing more conclusively establish the proof of this inter- 
course. 

"About three years ago a seafaring man, by the 
name of Toombs, returned to his family, who resided in 
this place. His widow resides here still. One night, 
not long after his return, he awoke his wife, telling 
her to look at the coffin standing by the side of the 
bed ; but she replied that she could not see it, nor any- 
thing in the room, as it was totally dark. He insisted 
on getting up and looking into it, as he said he saw a 
coffin there as truly as he was alive. He arose, and on 
looking into it immediately exclaimed, 'It is myself! 
It is me ! ' She tried to convince him the next morn- 
ing that it was a dream; but he said he was certain 
that it foreshadowed his death. The second day after- 
ward, as he was walking on the edge of the wharf, his 
foot slipped ; he was precipitated into the river, and 
before assistance could be rendered he was dead. His 
body was taken home, and his coffin at last stood in 
the identical place to which his attention had been di- 
rected in the vision. " [" Univercoelum. ' ' 1848.] 

' ' The next example I shall cite came, in part, within 
my own personal knowledge," says Moore, in his 
work on i ' Body and Mind. " "A colleague of the dip- 
lomatic corps, an intimate friend of mine,M. de S., had 
engaged for himself and his lady, passage to South 
America in a steamer, to sail on the 9th day of May, 
1856. A few days after their passage was taken, a 
friend of theirs and mine had a dream, which caused 
her serious uneasiness. She saw, in her dream, a ship 
in a violent storm founder at sea ; and an internal in- 
timation made her aware that it was the vessel on 
board which the S. 's proposed to embark. So lively 
was the impression, that on awakening she could 
scarcely persuade herself that the vision was not a 
reality. Dropping again to sleep, the same dream re- 
curred a second time. This increased her anxiety; 
and the next day she asked my advice as to whether 
she ought not to state the circumstances to her 
friends. Having at that time no faith whatever in 
such intimations, I recommended her not to do so, 
since it would not probably cause them to change 
their plans, yet might make them uncomfortable to no 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 253 

purpose. So she suffered them to depart unadvised 
of the fact. It so happened, however, as I learned a 
few weeks later, that fortuitous circumstances in- 
duced my friends to alter their first intention, and, 
having given up their places, to take passage in an- 
other vessel. 

"These particulars had nearly passed from my 
memory, when long afterward, being at the Russian 
Minister's his lady said to me, 'How fortunate that 
our friends, the S.'s, did not go in the vessel they had 
first selected ! ' ' Why so ? ' I asked. ' Have you not 
heard,' she replied, 'that the vessel is lost? * It must 
have perished at sea; for, though more than six 
months have elapsed since it left port, it has never 
since been heard of.' 

"In this case, it will be remarked that the dream 
was communicated to myself some weeks or months 
before its warning was fulfilled. It is to be con- 
ceded, however, that the chances against its fulfill- 
ment were not so great as in some of the preceding ex- 
amples. The chances against a vessel about to cross 
the Atlantic being lost on that particular voyage are 
much less than are the chances against a man, say of 
middle age and in good health, dying on any one par- 
ticular day. 

"In the next example we shall find a new element 
introduced. Mrs. S. related to me, that, residing in 
Rome in June, 1856, she dreamed, on the thirtieth day 
of that month, that her mother, who had been several 
years dead, appeared to her, gave her a lock of hair, 
and said, 'Be especially careful of this lock of hair, 
my child, for it is your father's, and the angels will 
call him away from you to-morrow.' The effect of 
this dream on Mrs. S.'s spirits was such that when she 
awoke she experienced the greatest alarm, and caused 
a telegraphic notice to be instantly despatched to 
England, where her father was, to inquire after his 
health. No immediate reply was received, but when 
it did come it was to the effect that her father had 
died that morning at nine o'clock. She afterwards 
learned that two days before his death he had caused 
to be cut off a lock of his hair, and handed it to one of 
his daughters who was attending on him, telling her 



254 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

it was for her sister in Rome. He had been ill of a 
chronic disease, but the last account she received of 
his health had been favorable, and had given reason 
to hope that he might yet survive for some years. 

"I proceed to furnish, from among the narratives 
of this character which have thus recently come to my 
knowledge, a few specimens, for the authenticity of 
which I can vouch. 

"In the year 1818, Signor Alessandro Romano, the 
head of an old and highly respected Neapolitan fam- 
ily, was at Patu, in the province of Terra d'Otranto, 
in the kingdom of Naples. He dreamed one night 
that the wife of the Cavaliere Libetta, Counsellor of 
the Supreme Court, and his friend and legal adviser, 
who was then in the city of Naples, was dead. Al- 
though Signor Romano had not heard of the Signora 
Libetta being ill or even indisposed, yet the extreme 
vividness of the dream produced a great impression 
on his mind and spirits, and the next morning he re- 
peated it to his family, adding that it had disturbed 
him greatly, not only on account of his friendship for 
the family, but also because the Cavaliere had then in 
charge for him a lawsuit of importance, which he 
feared this domestic affliction might cause him to neg- 
lect. 

"Patu is two hundred and eighty miles from Na- 
ples, and it was several days before any confirmation 
or refutation of Signor Romano's fears could be ob- 
tained. At last he received a letter from the Cava- 
liere Libetta, informing him that he had lost his wife 
by death, and on comparing dates it was found that 
she died on the very night of Signor Romano 's dream. 

''This fact was communicated to me by my friend, 
Don Guiseppe Romano, son of the gentleman above 
referred. to, who was living in his father's house when 
the incident took place, and heard him relate the 
dream the morning after it occurred. 

"Here is another, which was narrated to me, I re- 
member, while walking, one beautiful day in June, in 
the Villa Reale (the fashionable park of Naples, hav- 
ing a magnificent view over the bay, by a member of 

the A legation, one of the most intelligent and 

agreeable acquaintances I made in that city, 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 255 

' 'On the 1.6th of October, 1850; being then in the 
city of Naples, this gentleman dreamed that he was by 
the bedside of his father, who appeared to be in the 
agonies of death, and that, after a time, he saw him 
expire. He awoke in a state of great excitement, 
bathed in cold perspiration ; and the impression on his 
mind was so strong that he immediately rose, though 
it was still night, dressed himself and wrote to his 
father, inquiring after his health. His father was 
then at Trieste, distant from Naples, by the nearest 
route, five days' journey; and the son had no cause 
whatever, except the above dream, to be uneasy about 
him, seeing that his age did not exceed fifty, and that 
no intelligence of his illness, or even indisposition, had 
been received. He waited for a reply with some anx- 
iety for three weeks, at the end of which time came an 
official communication to the chef of the mission, re- 
questing him to inform the son that it behooved him 
to take some legal measures in regard to the property 
of his father, who had died at Trieste, after a brief ill- 
ness, on the sixteenth day of October. 

'*It will be observed that, in this instance, the agi- 
tation of mind in the dreamer was much greater than 
commonly occurs in the case of an ordinary dream. 
The gentleman rose, dressed himself in the middle of 
the night, and immediately wrote to his father, so 
great was his anxiety in regard to that parent's fate. 
The same may usually be noticed in the record of 
cases in which the dream is fulfilled, even if the per- 
son to whom it occurs is a skeptic in all such presenti- 
ments. 

'*Such a skeptic is Macnish, author of the 'Philos- 
ophy of Sleep ; ' yet he admits the effect which such a 
dream, occurring 1o himself in the month of August, 
1861, produced upon his spirits. I quote the narra- 
tive in his own words : — 

" 'I was then in Caithness, when I dreamed that a 
near relation of my own, residing three hundred miles 
off, had suddenly died, and immediately thereafter, 
awoke in a state of inconceivable terror, similar to 
that produced by a paroxysm of nightmare. The 
same day, happening to be writing home, I mentioned 
the circumstance in a half -jesting-, half -earnest way. 



25G THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

To tell the truth, I was afraid to be serious, lest I 
should be laughed at for putting any faith in dreams. 
Howeyer, in the interval between writing and receiv- 
ing an answer, I remained in a state of most unpleas- 
ant suspense. I felt a presentiment that something 
dreadful had happened or would happen ; and, though 
I could not help blaming myself for a childish weak- 
ness in so feeling, I was unable to get rid of the pain- 
ful idea wdiich had taken such rooted possession of my 
mind. Three days after sending away the letter, 
what was my astonishment when I received one writ- 
ten the day subsequent to mine, and stating that the 
relative of whom I had dreamed had been struck with 
a fatal shock of palsy the day before — that is, the very 
day on the morning of which I had beheld the appear- 
ance in my dream ! I may state that my relative was 
in perfect health before the fatal event took place. It 
came upon him like a thunderbolt, at a period when 
no one could have the slightest anticipation of 
danger.' 

"Here is a witness disinterested beyond all possible 
doubt; for he is supplying evidence against his own 
opinions. But are the effects he narrates such as are 
usually produced by a mere dream on the mind of a 
person not affected by superstition? Inconceivable 
terror, though there was no nightmare ; a presenti- 
ment lasting for days, taking rooted possession of the 
feelings, and which he strove in vain to shake off, that 
something dreadful had happened, or would happen ! 
Yet, with all this alarm, unnatural under ordinary 
circumstances, how does the narrator regard the case ? 
He sets down his terrors as childish weakness, and 
declares, as to the coincidence which so excited his 
astonishment, that there is nothing in it to justify us 
in referring it to any other origin than chance. ' ' 

Major Andre, the circumstances of whose lamented 
death are too well known to make it necessary for me 
to detail them here, was a friend of Miss Seward's, 
and previously to his embarkation for America, he 
made a journey into Derbyshire to pay her a visit; 
and it was arranged that they should ride over to see 
the wonders of the Peak ? and introduce Andre to 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 257 

Newton, her minstrel, as she called him, and to Mr. 
Cunningham, the curate, who was also a poet. 

' While these two gentlemen were waiting the ar- 
rival of their guests, of whose intention they had been 
apprised, Mr. Cunningham mentioned to Newton that 
on the preceding night he had had a very extraordi- 
nary dream, which he could not get out of his head. 
He had fancied himself in a forest; the place was 
strange to him ; and while looking about he perceived 
a horseman approaching at great speed, who had 
scarcely reached the spot where the dreamer stood 
when three men rushed out of the thicket, and seizing 
his bridle, hurried him away, after closely searching 
his person. The countenance of the stranger being 
very interesting, the sympathy felt by the sleeper for 
his apparent misfortune awoke him ■ but he presently 
fell asleep again, and dreamed that he was standing 
near a great city, among thousands of people, and 
that he saw the same person whom he had seen seized 
in the wood, brought out and suspended to a gallows. 
When Andre and Miss Seward arrived, he was horror- 
struck to perceive that his new acquaintance was the 
antetype and reality of the man whom he had seen in 
the dream. ( 

' ' One fact, however, may still be related as a speci- 
men of man3^ others which occurred in Stilling 's ex- 
perience. Having at one time occasion to write on 
business to his friend Hess, Stilling, while engaged 
in writing, suddenly felt a deep internal impression, 
as though a voice had spoken to him, that his friend 
Lataver 'would die a bloody death — the death of a 
martyr.' He was impressed to write this to Hess, 
which he accordingly did. In ten weeks after Still- 
ing had this impression, Lavater received a mortal 
wound from the hands of a Swiss grenadier, incited, 
as it was supposed, by some political jealousy. 

"Dr. George De Benneville, a physician and Ana- 
baptist preacher, who resided at Germantown, Pa., 
before and during the American Revolution, was also 
subject to interior impressions. Being an exceed- 
ingly benevolent man, he spent much of his time in 
bestowing gratuitous medical attention upon the 
poor. 



258 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

"One morning he told his family that he felt im- 
pressed to ride into Philadelphia, nine miles distant, 
by a consciousness that a vessel had just arrived in 
port, having on board a poor sick sailor who needed 
his assistance. He accordingly went to Philadelphia, 
and found the sick sailor just as he had described. 

"During the Revolution, while Philadelphia was 
occupied by the British, Dr. De Benneville resided a 
portion of the time at Reading, Pa. One day while 
there he ordered his horse and chaise, saying that the 
British had on that day evacuated Philadelphia, and 
that matters there required his immediate attention. 
His family at first thought him wandering in his 
mind ; but they suffered him to depart. A day or two 
afterwards intelligence arrived that the British had 
actually evacuated Philadelphia on that very day." 
[' ' Univercoelum. ' '] 

The following is, if anything, of a still more posi- 
tive character, and is vouched for by high authority : 

"In the winter of 1835-6, a schooner was frozen up 
in the upper part of the Bay of Fundy, close to Dor- 
chester, which is nine miles from the River Pedeu- 
diac. During the time of her detention, she was en- 
trusted to the care of a gentleman of the name of 
Clarke, who is at this time captain of the schooner 
'Julia Hallock,' trading between New York and St. 
Jago de Cuba. 

"Captain Clarke's paternal grandmother, Mrs. Ann 
Dawe Clarke, to whom he was much attached, was at 
that time living, and, so far as he knew, well. She 
was residing at Lyme-Regis, in the County of Dorset, 
England. 

"On the night of the 17th of February, 1836, Cap- 
tain Clarke, then on board the schooner referred to, 
had a dream of so vivid a character that it produced 
a great impression upon him. He dreamed that, be- 
ing at Lyme-Regis, he saw pass before him the funeral 
of his grandmother. He took note of the chief per- 
sons who composed the procession; observed who 
were the pall-bearers, who were the mourners, and 
who was the officiating pastor. He joined the pro- 
cession as it approached the churchyard gate, and 
proceeded with it to the grave. He thought, in his 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 259 

dream, that the weather was stormy, and the ground 
was wet, as after a heavy rain, and he noticed that the 
wind, being high, blew the pall partly off the coffin. 
The graveyard which they entered, the old Protest- 
ant one, in the centre of the town, was the same in 
which, as Captain Clarke knew, their family burying 
place was. He perfectly remembered its situation, but 
to his surprise, the funeral procession did not proceed 
thither, but to another part of the churchyard at some 
distance. There, still in his dream, he saw the open 
grave, partially filled with water, as from the rain, 
and, looking into it, he particularly noticed, floating 
in the water, two drowned field-mice. Afterwards, 
as he thought, he conversed with his mother, and she 
told him that the morning had been so tempestuous 
that the funeral, originally appointed for ten o'clock, 
had been deferred till four. He remarked, in reply, 
that it was a fortunate circumstance, for as he had 
just arrived in time to join the procession, had the 
funeral taken place in the forenoon he could not have 
attended it at all. 

"This dream made so deep an impression on Cap- 
tain Clarke that in the morning he noted the date of 
it. Some time afterwards there came the news of his 
grandmother's death, with the additional particular 
that she was buried on the same day on which he, 
being in North America, had dreamed of her funeral. 

"When, four years afterwards, Captain Clarke 
visited Lyme-Regis, he found that every particular 
of his dream minutely corresponded with the reality. 
The pastor, the pall -bearers, the mourners were the 
same persons he had seen. Yet this, we may suppose, 
he might naturally have anticipated. But the funeral 
had been appointed for ten o'clock in the morning, 
and in consequence of the tempestuous weather and 
the heavy rain that was falling it had been delayed 
until four in the afternoon. His mother, who at- 
tended the funeral, distinctly recollected that the high 
wind blew the pall partially off the coffin. In conse- 
quence of a wish expressed by the old lady shortly 
before her death, she was buried, not in the burying 
place of the family, but at another spot selected by 
herself, and to this spot Captain Clarke, without any 



260 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

indication from the family or otherwise, proceeded at 
once, as directly as if he had been present at the 
burial. Finally, on comparing notes with the old 
sexton, it appeared that the heavy rain of the morning 
had partially filled the grave, and that there were 
actually found in it two field-mice, drowned. 

"This last incident, even if there were no other, 
might suffice to preclude all idea of accidental coin- 
cidence. 

' " The above was narrated to me by Captain Clarke 
himself," says Moore, in his work on 'Body and 
Mind,' "with permission to use his name in attesta- 
tion of its truth. ' ' 

Presentiments of Death.— Presentiments of the per- 
son's death are by no means rare; volumes might be 
filled with them. Premonitions of coming danger; 
warnings, which, if heeded, are salvation, would 
form a library of volumes if recorded — yet it is often 
asked why spirits do not give these warnings. They 
do at all times when possible. The conditions of the 
reception of such warnings are essentially as follows : 
The spirit must have a foreknowledge which few pos- 
sess, for the future is by no means an open book to 
all. It must be able to impress its thougnts on the 
friend whom it wishes to save. The difficulties that 
environ it cannot be adequately understood by us. 
During the late war I have noticed many such re- 
corded. No philosophy but spirit-impression can ex- 
plain the origin of such presentiments ; for knowledge 
is conveyed which, to say the least, is super-mundane, 
and outside of and above the capacity of man. To 
prophesy the hour of a person's departure has never 
been achieved by the reason of man. 

"Mrs. Dorothea Foos, aged ninety-nine years, died 
at her residence in Ensor street, Baltimore, on Satur- 
day evening, having lived to see five generations. 
Mrs. Foos dreamed, some nine years ago, that she 
would die on the 5th of April, 1845, and her acquaint- 
ances have often heard her state her presentiment. 
About ten years ago she accidentally fell out of bed 
and broke her hip, and otherwise injured herself, so 
that all hopes of her recovery were given up ; but she 
steadily insisted that she should get about again, and 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 261 

not die until the 5th of April, 1845; and singular 
though it be, yet such is the fact, she did live until 
Saturday, the 5th of April, 1845, and died on that 
day. 

"A young lady of this city, highly esteemed and 
respected, who had been sick for some length of time, 
but was supposed to be convalescent, had a dream a 
few nights since, in which it appeared to her that she 
would die ajt eight o'clock the same evening. On 
awaking, she informed her family of her dream, and 
remained firmly impressed with the idea that she 
should die at the hour designated, and under that 
belief called her brothers and sisters around her, giv- 
ing them good advice with reference to the future. 
Strange to say, and remarkable as it may seem, on 
the approach of eight o'clock she manifested a calm 
resignation, and almost as the clock tolled the hour 
her spirit took its night. Thus she foretold, by a 
singular presentiment, the day and hour of her own 
death." ["Rochester American."] 

' ' One of the most remarkable cases of presentiment 
I know is that which occurred not very long since on 
board one of Her Majesty's ships, when lying off 
Portsmouth. The officers being one day at the mess-table, 
a young Lieutenant, P., suddenly laid down his knife 
and fork, pushed away his plate, and turned ex- 
tremely pale. He then rose from the table, covering 
his face with his hands, and retired from the room. 
The president of the mess, supposing him to be ill, 
sent one of the young men to inquire what was the 
matter. At first, Mr. P. was unwilling to speak; but 
on being pressed, he confessed that he had been seized 
by a sudden and irresistible impression that a brother 
he had, then in India, was dead. 'He died,' said he, 
' on the 12th of August, at six o 'clock ; I am perfectly 
certain of it.' No argument could overthrow this 
conviction, which, in due course of post, was verified 
to the letter. The young man had died at Cawnpore, at 
the precise period mentioned." [Fishbough.] 

"Borrow, in his interesting book entitled "The Bible 
in Spain,' gives a singular instance of presentiment — 
the coming event casting its shadows before. A 
sailor, on coming on deck in the morning, informed 



262 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

him, with deep solemnity, that during the night he 
had been impressed that in a few hours he should meet 
his death by drowning. The sailor was the most ac- 
tive and intelligent of the crew. No reasoning or 
ridicule could efface the impression that he had re- 
ceived; it seemed written upon his very soul. Dur- 
ing the evening the wind arose, and freshened to a 
gale. The sailor in question went aloft to take in 
sail. While engaged in that duty he lost his hold and 
footing, and fell overboard. A boat was immediately 
lowered, and every effort made to save him, but in 
Vain. The narrator saw his face shining out like a 
thing of light as he sank fathoms deep beneath the 
waves." ["Univercoelum."] 

[Last year, on bidding my aunt adieu after a short 
visit, and hoping to see her soon, she told me in tears 
that she had a presentiment that she should not live 
until the summer had passed. When attacked at 
length with mortal sickness, in midsummer, she said 
that medicine would be unavailing, and prophesied 
the exact hour of her departure.] 

There is a class of presentiments received in regard 
to those who are near and dear to us for which animal 
magnetism gives a partial explanation, and probably 
does account for many facts ; but spiritual impression 
must be called to fully account for others. The same 
law by which one person obtains an impression from 
another enables him to obtain an impression from a 
spirit. 

►Schopenhaur most truthfully said: 

''There are moments in life when our senses obtain 
a higher and rarer degree of clearness, apart from 
any particular occasion for it in the nature of our 
surroundings; and explicable, rather, on physiolog- 
ical grounds alone, as the result of some enhanced 
state of susceptibility, working from within, out- 
wards. Such moments remain indelibly impressed 
upon the memory, and preserve themselves in their 
individuality entire. ' ' 

He could not explain the gleams through the rifts 
in the spiritual clouds, because he did not know the ex- 
alting power of spirit influence. The spontaneous 
phenomena which come at such times are collectively 
of great value in the study of this subject. Espe- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 263 

cially are these active moments observed during sleep, 
and the results are called dreams. 

Cardinal Gibbons, in his address on the occasion of 
the funeral of Mother Mary Joseph O'Leary, Pitts- 
burg, said : ' ' That while sitting in his room the other 
night he fell asleep. He dreamed that both the late 
Bishop Thomas Feely, of Chicago, and Bishop John 
S. Folly, of Detroit, appeared before him. The Car- 
dinal greeted them, and asked how Mary Joseph was, 
to which both Bishops replied: 'She has passed 
away. ' The next morning Cardinal Gibbons received 
a message saying that the Mother Superior had died 
the night before." 

"A lady of my acquaintance correctly saw, in a 
dream, all the main particulars of the burning of the 
steamboat 'Lexington,' on Long Island Sound, a few 
years ago, on the night of the occurrence ; and on 
awaking she related the account to her husband, in 
general terms, just as it subsequently appeared in the 
newspapers." [Fishbough.] 

It is a singular fact that, notwithstanding their edu- 
cational fears, children are never frightened at the 
appearance of spectres. 

"A lady with her child embarked on board a vessel 
at Jamaica, for the purpose of visiting her friends in 
England, leaving her husband quite well. It was a 
sailing packet; and they had been some time at sea, 
when one evening, while the child was kneeling be- 
fore her saying his prayers previous to going to rest, 
he suddenly said, looking eagerly to a particular spot 
in the cabin, 'Mamma, pa!' 'Nonsense, my dear!' 
the mother answered, 'you know your papa is not 
here!' 'He is indeed, mamma,' returned the child; 
'he is looking at us now.' Nor could she convince 
him to the contrary. When she went on deck, she 
mentioned the circumstance to the captain, who 
thought it so strange that he said he would note down 
the date of the occurrence. The lady begged him 
not to do so, saying it was attaching a significance 
to it which would make her miserable. He did it, 
however; and, shortly after her arrival in England, 
she learned that her husband had died exactly at that 
period. 



264 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

"A gentleman of this city, in whose veracity I have 
every confidence, recently related to me a fact which 
came under his personal knowledge, as follows: A 
lady, residing with her son in one of the Eastern 
States, recently dreamed that her daughter, living in 
New York, was taken suddenly and dangerously ill. 
Her son dreamed the same dream on the same night. 
Though neither of them had previously had any faith 
in dreams, in this instance their dreams made a deep 
impression on their minds, and they mutually related 
and compared them on the next morning. Shortly 
afterwards a telegraphic dispatch arrived, announc- 
ing that the daughter was severely and dangerously 
ill. The mother set off for New York with the first 
conveyance, and found her daughter in a condition 
precisely as represented in the dream of herself and 
son." 

Of the hundred or more that perished in the Ashta- 
bula catastrophe, and the thousands washed away by 
the Johnstown flood, it is asked why were so few 
warned? Had they not all spirit friends interested 
in their welfare, and why were not all explicitly for- 
bidden to stay ? How many times we receive premo-. 
nitions and cast them aside as vagaries of the mind! 
How many of those thousands of victims received im- 
pressions to fly to a place of safety can never be 
konwn. Mr. W. H. Williams, in a communication to 
the Medium, and Daybreak (England), shows how 
even the plainest warning is too often neglected. He 
had attended a circle, and while on his way home, in 
a highly sensitive condition, he received the impres- 
sion of great danger to two of his workmates. Al- 
though late in the evening, he hastened to their dwell- 
ings and aroused them from sleep to tell them of the 
impending danger. But they scoffed at the very 
idea ; they were in health and strength, as far as they 
knew, and said, what had they to fear ? But Wednes- 
day morning brought with it a fearful accident, and 
the same two men that he had warned two days before 
were the unfortunate persons that got killed. The 
accident occurred near Woodhouse Mill, on the Mid- 
land Railway. 

The Liverpool Post, in speaking of the loss of the 
Avalanche, says that one lad at least was saved by a 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 265 

premonition. Being a friend of the mate, he intended 
to accompany the ship down the channel and return 
with the pilot. At the last moment he was seized 
with an aversion, and did not go. Thereby he saved 
his life, for few of those who went escaped. 

The apprentice, whose friend escaped, possessed a 
retriever dog, which was very fond of him, and which 
answered to a shrill dog-whistle that he carried. On 
the night of the shipwreck his mother and aunt were 
in the sitting-room, and the dog in the kitchen. Be- 
tween nine and ten o'clock the ladies were startled 
by hearing a shrill whistle upstairs, in sound resem- 
bling that of the dog-whistle used by the young man. 
The dog heard it also, gave his usual recognizing bark, 
and hurried upstairs, where he supposed his master 
was. 

Again, how many times the warning comes, and be- 
ing unconsciously heeded, and nothing unusual oc- 
curring, it is said it was only a nervous foreboding, 
which we ought to have overcome ! Yet we must not 
overlook the fact that few are sensitive, and however 
anxious their spirit friends may be to influence them 
they would find it impossible. In the contentions of 
the world, the still small voice is unheard, or if heard 
unheeded. 

Yet it is with pleasure we may know that this sensi- 
tiveness may be cultivated, and the more its voice is 
heeded the more readily it may be distinguished, and 
the more constant will be its premonitions. 

It thus appears that during sleep many individuals 
become susceptible to spirit-influence who are not so 
jn the waking state. During the positive conditions 
of day, they are incapable of receiving impressions; 
but the negative influence of night, and the passive 
state of sleep, open the gateway for the entrance of 
spiritual impressions. Sometimes, as is proved by 
preceding facts, the sleeper passes into a truly clair- 
voyant state. 

There is one other consideration — that of the alle- 
gorical form in which dreams that we refer to im- 
pression often appear. This is susceptible of easy 
explanation. Persons usually have signs, well deter- 
mined 133. their own minds, by which they recognize 



266 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the coming of events. Thus, one believes that if he 
dreams of fire, he is sure to have a quarrel ; or, of dark 
and turbulent water, that sickness is in store. If, it 
is said, a spirit can impress these signs, why not im- 
press the plain truth? We say, because the sign is 
more easily impressed. If the spirits attempted to 
impress the details of sickness or of disputation, they 
would be obliged to call into activity the organs of 
fear, combativeness, etc., which might at once de- 
stroy the passiveness of the person, and abruptly ter- 
minate their communication. By using a sign that 
the sleeper, during sleep, does not recognize as sig- 
nificant, this is avoided. 

But they do not employ signs except in those cases 
where from experience they have found them neces- 
sary. The passivity of individuals varies; and often 
the unvarnished facts can be presented, even when 
revolting, without disturbing the essential conditions, 
or not until presented, when the sleeper generally 
passes at once to wakefulness. 



CHAPTER XL 

HEAVEN AND HELL, THE SUPPOSED ABODES 
OF THE DEPARTED. 



Where Located by the Ancients — The Childhood of the Race 
Outgrown — Located Beneath the Earth — Heaven Above 
the Clouds — Between the Earth and Moon — In the Sun — 
Comets the Location of Hell — Heaven the Actual of De- 
sires—Why Another State Is Asked For — The "New Jeru- 
salem" — The Popular Evangelical Idea of Heaven — What 
the Devil Has Done — The Abolition of Hell. 

Where Located by the Ancients.— The abode of the 
departed was placed by the ancients in unexplored 
regions of the globe. The sphericity of the earth is 
of recent discovery. The world was thought to be a 
level plain bounded by the sea, and the Persians be- 
lieved a chain of inaccessible mountains, two thou- 
sand feet high, surrounded it, preventing any one from 
falling otf . When the Roman general, Decius Brutus, 
with his army reached the coast of Portugal, and for 
the first time gazed on the infinite expanse of water, 
and saw the great red sun go down into the crimson 
billows, he was seized with great horror, and turned 
back the eagles of his legions. 

To the Greek and Roman only a very small area 
was known, and their ardent imaginations revelled 
in creations outside of this geographical knowledge. 
There was ample space to locate the realms of the 
dead, and transfer the mystic under-world to the sur- 
face. 

On the starry heights of Mount Olympus the synod 
of the gods met in luxurious bowers, and from its 
summit Jupiter thundered his mandates over the 
world. In the remote west extended the golden gardens 
of the Hesperides. In the east the tall towers of the 



268 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

divine city of Maru pierced the amber light. Far in 
the raging desert of Ethiopia gleamed the banquet 
hall of the blessed. In the Central Ocean lay the Isles 
of Immortality, and far to the north, beyond the 
sunny avalanches of the Caucasus, spread the happy 
land of the Hyperboreans. 

Those were beautiful dreams, and it is with regret 
we see the iron hand of science encroach on this ex- 
citing realm of poesy. 

The Childhood of the Race Outgrown.— The child 
grows to manhood. He can no longer detect the face 
in the moon, which, in childhood, he so plainly saw. 

"How pleasant were the wild beliefs 

That dwelt in legends old ! 
Alas ! to our posterity 

Will no such tales be told ? 
"We know too much : scroll after scroll 

Weighs down our weary shelves. 
Our only point of ignorance 

Is centred in ourselves. ' ' 

It is the mystery growing out of vague, unde- 
fined knowledge which clothes the distant land with 
the poetic garb of paradise. 

The dying Hindoo hoped to reach the ' ' White Isle, ' ' 
the fragrant dwelling of mortal man. The ancient 
Briton, at death, found a home in the "noble island," 
far amid the dashing waves of the Western Ocean, 

The Hebrew Scriptures, in similar manner, referred 
to the lost paradise, the Garden of Eden. As its re- 
ception extended among the nations, conjectures were 
rife as to the locality of the wonderland. It was once 
thought to be in the bosom of India; then in the 
fragrant vales of Georgia; then in the inaccessible 
recesses of Mesopotamia ; then to be some oasis in the 
Arabian desert, where life met death in strange con- 
trast, and the weary pilgrim saw the spirit-like palm, 
shading the sparkling fountain, in the midst of deso- 
lation. 

The cosmography of the twelfth century confined 
paradise to the extreme eastern part of Asia, made 
inaccessible by a wall of fire surrounding it and as- 
cending to heaven. 

Still later, the Canaries were named the Fortunate 



THE ARCANA, OF SPIRITUALISM. 269 

Islands, from the supposition that they were the orig- 
inal Eden. To discover the original site of Eden was 
one of the strong motives actuating Columbus in his 
voyage to the west. 

Located Beneath the Earth. —The most popular an- 
cient belief of Jews, Greeks, Romans, Etruscans, Ger- 
mans, and Christians was that beneath the earth there 
was a vast, gloomy world of the dead. This was held 
by the Scandinavian nations, and lingered to recent 
times in the beautiful fictions of elves and fairies. Its 
name was derived from the grave. The Hebrew word 
"sheol," and the Greek ''hades/' meant the grave. 
It was a dark, gloomy world of shadows, from which 
only a few peerless heroes and sages, by the interfer- 
ence of the gods, were transplanted to Elysium. The 
classical description of this abode is terrible — a scene 
of gloom, of passion; suffering, or a lethargic state 
that only relieves from suffering. 

From Hades leads two paths, one to Elysium, one 
to Tartarus. If the blessed spirit reached the former, 
life became a joy. Flowery fields, fragrant breezes, 
social happiness in friendly reunions, contributed to 
his peace. Here the hero-gods of pagans, and the 
saints of the Christians, found repose. 

If the doomed spirit walked the other path, it 
reached Tartarus, where the old earth-giants lay, 
tranfixed with thunderbolts,, like mountain masses 
half concealed by cinders and lava. The Furies are 
seen in the darkness, by the light of the rivers of fire 
on the banks of which they stand. All around groan 
the wretched sinners, torn by tortures, the recital of 
which curdles the blood. Here is the pagan system, 
worked up by the Romish hierarchy into purgatory, 
paradise, and hell. Hades is the probationary stage. 
In quite modern times, excited ecclesiastics have seri- 
ously taught that volcanoes were entrances to the 
awful under-world, and many a legend now told re- 
cords this early belief. 

Heaven Above the Clouds.— The cloudland has not 
been left unoccupied. There the Caledonians fixed 
their realm of shades. The vast atmosphere is the 
hall of spirit-existence. The departed heroes ride on 
the wings of the tempest. The shriek of the jwind, 



270 TlTE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the bellow of the thunder, are their voices, and the 
lightning flames their red eyes of wrath. 

The Lapland heaven is in the pure regions of the 
aurora borealis. The streamers are the play of the 
departed. 

Heaven Between the Earth and the Moon.— The 
Platonists located heaven in the space between the 
earth and moon. The Manichaeans thought the de- 
parted went to the moon, where their sins were 
washed away ; and then to the sun, to be purified by 
fire. 

The Hebrews thought the sky a solid arch, support- 
ing an inexhaustible supply of water, beyond which 
dwelt God and his angels in regal splendor. This 
conjecture of a solid firmament the ignorant mind 
at once receives as direct evidence of the senses, and 
is world-wide. Beyond the solid firmament, in which 
the stars are set, a mysterious region of space exists, 
which invites the fancy to people it with its own 
creations. 

Heaven in the Sun.— The Aztecs and Incas regarded 
the sun as the third and highest state of future ex- 
istence. While the wicked, comprising the great ma- 
jority, were confined in everlasting darkness, and a 
second state of innocent contentment was enjoyed by 
those more favorable to the gods, the heroes who fell 
in battle, and sacrificial victims, passed directly to 
the sun, to follow his shining course through the 
heavens; and, after years, they became the spirit of 
the clouds, and singing birds, revelling in the rich 
fragrance of the gardens of paradise. It is extremely 
singular that, with this complexity and variety of 
being for the future life, these strange races assigned 
no form of physical torture, which is often the first 
notion of the after-life to suggest itself to rude minds. 
Comets JJie Location of Hell.— The diffusion of as- 
tronomical knowledge has broken the heavenly crys- 
talline sphere to fragments; but theologians are not 
at a loss to avail themselves of the smattering of sci- 
ence they usually acquire ; and a comet appearing in 
the celebrated Dr. Whiston's time, convinced him that 
it was the real hell so long sought. He thought it 
admirably contrived for punishment— rushing to the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 271 

sun, and acquiring a temperature thousands of de- 
grees above molten iron, and then traversing regions 
of space where the cold reaches an intensity inappre- 
ciable to us. Truly, this is a fine arrangement for 
torture. God's wrath has fixed itself in the mechan- 
ism of the cosmos ! In the cometary hell, the undy- 
ing soul oscillates between the extremes of heat and 
cold, suffering from a kind of intermittent fever. 

Heaven the Actual of Desires.— Heaven, as ideal- 
ized by the world-weary, is a place of eternal rest. 
It is not strange that such should be the toiler's 
dream of felicity. Bowed beneath the excessive labor 
of this life, without means of escaping its drudgery, 
or a hope of bettering his condition, to him the most 
desirable state possible. is one of rest. 

Heaven is always what the mind most desires. The 
weary traveler in the desert, famished and dying with 
thirst, has no higher aspiration than the palm groves 
of an oasis, with its leaping fountains and luscious 
dates, where, sheltered from the sun's fierce rays, he 
can slake his thirst, satisfy his hunger, and repose in 
undisturbed quietude. 

It is thus with those weary of life 's incessant strug- 
gle. The mass of mankind are born to poverty and 
labor. Their lives are an unceasing battle with hun- 
ger and cold. They have no moments of recreation, 
wherein the noble aspirations which the lowest human 
being is capable of feeling can be gratified. 

Why Another State Is Asked For.— At death, after 
fourscore years of struggling, when we look back 
across the fleeting years, when we retrospect all we 
have done, how small has been the work accom- 
plished ! We have supported the wants of the body 
as best we could, and have given it bread to appease 
its hunger, and protected it from cold, but many find 
it impossible to supply even a crust and a ragged gar- 
ment. The superior spiritual nature lies an uncul- 
tivated waste; briers and brambles, slimy morasses 
and hideous dismal swamps, everywhere. 

When the old man asks himself, "What have I ac- 
complished in all my past life?" too often his answer 
is, "You have existed; just existed." The world 



272 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

never knew it possessed you; and when you die it 
will not miss you. You have existed. 

The man feels such to be his history, and his unsat- 
isfied spirit prays for another state, where he can re- 
trieve the mistakes of this, and find ideal happiness. 
The form of that happiness varies with each individ- 
ual. What one considers as most delightful is not so 
to another; but the main idea promulgated by Chris- 
tianity is of rest. Heaven is where the wicked shall 
cease from striving, and the weary shall be at rest. 

The "New Jerusalem."— The "New Jerusalem" of 
the church is a celestial city which, if words mean 
anything is believed to be founded for the express 
accommodation of earthly mortals. Some genius, 
skilled in theological dogmas, has instituted the fol- 
lowing calculations from data furnished by the Bible, 
and his results have been published by leading ortho- 
dox journals : 

"And he measured the city with a reed, twelve 
thousand furlongs. The length, the breadth, and the 
height of it are equal. Rev. xxi. 16. 

"Twelve thousand furlongs — 7,920,000 feet, cubed, 
is 496,793,088,000,000,000,000 cubic feet. Half of this 
we will reserve for the throne of God and the court 
of heaven, and half the balance for streets, leaving a 
remainder of 124,198,272,000,000,000,000 cubic feet. 
Divide this by 4,066, the cubical feet in a room 
16 feet square and 16 feet high, and there will be 
30,321,843,750,000,000 rooms. 

"We will now suppose that the world always did, 
and always will, contain 900,000,000 inhabitants, and 
that a generation lasts 33 years and 4 months, making 
2,700,000,000 every century, and that the world will 
stand 100,000 years, making in all 270,000,000,000,000 
inhabitants. Then suppose there were a hundred 
such worlds equal to this in number of inhabitants 
and duration of years, making a total of 270,000,000,- 
000,000,000 persons; then there would be a room 16 
feet square for each person, and yet there would be 
room." 

Whoever the author of this sublime nonsense of 
mathethematics may be, he has exhibited the folly 
and ignorance of the day. Is humanity to be thrust 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 273 

into such a dove-cote of a heaven ? Are we to be in- 
carcerated for eternity in such a gigantic bee-comb? 
Every rational sense forbids. Such is the church 
view of the future life. How degrading ! how puerile ! 
how unmanly ! Let the water of Lethe close over the 
soul forever; let oblivion's wing nestle it, rather than 
endure a spiritual existence in such a place ! The 
streets of gold, and throne of God covered with pre- 
cious stones ! What a show of learning ! How little 
sense! Contemplate the milky-way. Every sweep 
of the telescope brings thousands and thousands of 
suns to view, each having its fleet of attendant worlds, 
If each of the worlds which flash through the crystal 
vault of night were to send a single delegate to the 
throne of God, this heaven would overflow, being 
packed to its utmost capacity. 

Such a heaven would be the grand miracle of crea- 
tion, such as an Oriental despot would build could he 
possess Aladdin 's lamp, and have all his desires grat- 
ified by the discovery. 

It is not the sage 's heaven, nor that of the rational 
man, any more than is the sensual paradise of Mo- 
hammed. 

In this nonsense, the mathematician omitted what, 
in theological discussions, is of most vital importance. 
He has assumed that all mankind are to be - saved, 
when any divine would have assured him that at least 
nine out of ten are doomed to quite another place. 
According to his calculations, the "Celestial City" 
has been created many times too large for the accom- 
modation of the saints of earth. 

Many will go in through the church, if not other- 
wise. Men with arithmetics for consciences, and vul- 
tures for hearts, are entering through the church 
doors, and obsequious divines are bowing them 
through just because their hearts are vultures, and fat 
with prey. Ah ! is there a police in the streets of the 
"Celestial City?" 

The soul in the Christian heaven is not quite at 
rest. One faculty is retained. It can sing. Divines 
say that this is about the only employment of ran- 
somed souls — singing praises to God on golden harps ! 
They always sing a tune of praise. Yfhat a delight- 



274 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ful world, where all emotions are lost in swells of 
music ? Is heaven to be a singing-school ? 

This ideal is higher, but of the same kind, as that 
of the Hottentot, who dreams of heaven as an im- 
mense cauldron of soup walled in by sausages. Nor 
is it far from Mohammed's paradise, gratifying to 
Orientals, peopled with houri, sweeter and more beau- 
tiful than visions of beauty, and perfumed with musk. 

Such beliefs debase instead of elevate. They are 
the ideals of individuals, not humanity's desires. 
They answer not its prayers. On the one hand, they 
present ignoble and unworthy incentives ; on the other 
they appeal to the lowest passions of man. The same 
may be said of the ideal of hell, an imaginary region 
concocted from the Greek idea of Hades, by the im- 
agination of bigoted sectaries. Superstition, the child 
of ignorance, united with bigotry, offspring of malice 
and hate, personified a God possessing these qualities 
pre-eminently: and this God, in his vindictiveness, 
forms a hell where he chains the spirit, cursed with 
immortality, to suffer inconceivable tortures. 

The Popular, Evangelical Idea of Heaven is a nar- 
row place, where the soul, so happy at its narrow 
escape from torment, thinks of nothing but a song of 
praise ; and hell is a burning pit where the God of the 
Church can wreak his vengeance on the unbelievers. 

In human affairs, law never punishes for punish- 
ment's sake, but for some benefit intended. But this 
punishment has no such meaning. It is given after 
the whole world has been judged, and no more of- 
fences can be committed. Then the major portions 
of humanity are thrust into eternal perdition. 

The bigoted church-member, who has held false- 
hood cheap and conscience a bad guide, but has made 
long prayers and paid his parson, will have the ex- 
treme satisfaction of seeing the infidel, who has com- 
forted his fellow-man, and endeavored to aid the 
needy and share their burdens with the suffering, go 
down into the maelstrom of fire. If he has an enemy 
that enemy is predestined for wrath. He has no faith 
in himself. He believes deeds of no avail ; belief is all 
in all. And in that he is right. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 275 

"If we reject our Savior and depend on ourselves, 
we depend on a poor staff ! ' ' 

This is a demoniac doctrine, sanctioning malice, 
hate, revenge, the foul brood engendered in the dark 
struggles of man 's passionate nature ! Away with 
doctrines representing the Supreme Ruler of the uni- 
verse as more satanic than Satan; representing Him 
who dwells in light unapproachable, whose attributes 
are infinite love, justice, and truth, as gratifying in- 
finite revenge ! 

How horrid are these doctrines ! how repugnant to 
humanity ! how contrary to reason ! Confession of 
sins, prayer, eating a morsel of bread, subscribing a 
ritual and baptism, ordaining a man for heaven, while 
the omission of these dooms him to hell ! 

The Catholic confesses his sins to a priest, and is 
forgiven; the Protestant sets the priest partially 
aside, and appeals directly to the Son of God, acting 
as his own priest, and obtains forgiveness. Belief is 
all that is required — faith, faith, faith. Nothing that 
one can do balances a farthing in his favor. Prayer 
and belief outweigh all the good deeds of a lifetime. 
My infidel friend, you are stigmatized while living, 
and the chances are all against you after death. The 
holy church will not even open its portals for your 
funeral ceremonies, unless its anointed preacher of- 
ficiates, and preaches you straight to destruction, and 
holds you up as an example and warning to all. Per- 
haps, in unwonted benevolence, a hope for you will be 
expressed, but so dubiously that it implies more than 
direct assertion.. 

And, over childhood's tiny grave, the agonized 
mother is reminded of infant depravity by the godly 
preacher. Unregenerated, depraved infants ! O, hu- 
manity! how awful the depths of thy conception 
where superstition and bigotry control ! Emotion, 
feeling, the noble and generous and angelic thought 
is blotted out; and hate, misanthropy, malice, re- 
venge, are mistaken for the love of God. I appeal to 
the mother for decision. Mother! behold your child 
nestling in your arms, beautiful as a vision ; its sunny 
curls falling over its high forehead, its eyes joyous as 
heaven, its smiles an angel's gleam — do you hold to 



276 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

your heart a depraved being, who, until regenerated, 
is a demon? 

I anticipate j^our answer, as I anticipate that of 
Mother Nature, when asked whether all mankind, 
whom she holds to her bosom, are depraved. Man's 
fall, his inherent depravity, his redemption through 
sacrifice, and his final heaven or hell, are intricately 
blended, logical sequences of each other, and rivals 
in absurdity. 

The churches are fast being forced to admit that 
the Adamic creation i£ a myth; and science demon- 
strates that man, so far from being created perfect, 
was ushered into existence a nude savage. His history 
has been one of progress. He has never retrograded, 
never fallen ; but step by step has he conquered ignor- 
ance, tamed the elements., bound the forces of nature, 
until the present time, wherein he stands superior to 
any past age. 

Man fallen? Then is civilized man below the sav- 
age ! Progress is retrogression, and noonday is 
Egyptian night ! 

The Artists and Their Influence on the Features 
and Character. — We are not to suppose heaven or hell 
all in the future. They are not to be reached by 
death, but are already with us. We shall reach them 
continually through all the future aeons. They are 
of yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow. We constantly 
express, in our physical contour, the motives which 
actuate us. The indwelling devil or angel cannot and 
will not be concealed. 

As the blossom expresses a prophecy of autumn, so 
youth reveals the infinite possibilities of manhood. 
Man and woman, words standing for the crowning 
glories of creation; yet how strangely contradictory 
thereto are the faces one meets in the streets ! Men 
and women, who should meet us radiant as immortal 
angels, pass us like disturbed demons. Childhood is 
beautiful ; but as soon as we pass that boundary, how 
the features distort ! how ugly they become ! Why is 
this? Because every faculty of the mind is a sculp- 
tor who incessantly works with finest chisel at the 
features. Sleeping or waking, constantly they mould 
the plastic clay. They are never satisfied with their 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 277 

model. The passions chisel their wrinkles and lines 
deep, terribly deep, and hideous; and the intellect 
and the morals set their artists to smooth them out, 
polish them off, and sharpen the outlines. Yield to 
the former, and the countenance becomes ugly and 
coarse and brutal, more and more so, from year to 
year ; and when old the man is animal and repulsive. 
But if the intellect and the morals are allowed to 
work, the man becomes beautiful, and the aged some- 
what divine. Delicate artists are these. They force 
the plastic body to become an exact semblance of the 
mind. They pluck the hairs from the head; they 
polish the scalp ; they sprinkle with grey ; they stoop 
the form ; they hold it erect ; they change the tone of 
the voice, the laugh, and the glance of the eye. How 
terrible is the work of some of these artists! The 
bloated form, the leering eye, the foul blood revealed 
in purple veins, the thin white locks, the palsied step, 
the feeble intellect — such models nil the world. How 
beautiful the image of noble age, when, from the 
cradle, the artists of truthful and living thoughts, of 
the keen intellect and godlike morality, and the sensi- 
tive chisels of spirituality, have constantly labored,, 
toning down, softening, sharpening, and vivifying the 
features ! Such men we sometimes see posing on the 
brink of the river of time ; and they always electrify 
our souls and fill us with emulation. They are like 
gleams of golden sunlight amid darkness, and quicken 
our faith in immortality. 

What the Devil Has Done!— According to the or- 
thodox church belief, the devil has been the most ac- 
tive being in the universe. After God had created the 
world and pronounced it "good," a single shrewd 
move on the part of the Prince of Darkness aborted 
all His plans, and sent the race of beings created after 
God's own image on the swift road to sin and death, 
only prevented by the Son of God, or God Himself, 
dying on the cross, and then only a possible moiety 
saved from eternal fire ! And from that vigorous 
start in the beginning there has been no cessation of 
devilish activity. Every new idea introduced into 
the world, many inventions, and nearly every step 
taken in advance of preconceived notions, has been 



278 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

credited to the Devil. To be wiser than one's time 
was, not so long ago, to be possessed of the Devil. It 
was the Devil who instilled into the mind of Coper- 
nicus a knowledge of planetary laws, and ground the 
lens of the telescope by which the orthodox idea of 
the earth being flat, square, and supported on the 
waters beneath the firmament, was dissipated. It 
was the Devil who impressed geologists with the no- 
tion of unfolding the strata of the earth's crust, and 
reading there the history of age after age of aeons 
length before the appearance of man. Especially 
was Darwin influenced to plan a scheme of evolution 
whereby the story of the six days of creation and 
origin of man was shown to be an idle myth of a child- 
ish race. 

Spiritualism was the latest work in which the 
Prince of Evil exhibited his perverse disposition. He 
came in the garb of near and dear angelic friends to 
lead the unwary astray ! He has succeeded most 
alarmingly, and millions follow this path, which ap- 
parently is pleasant beyond compare, and glorious 
with the light of thought, but leads to the region of 
despair, if this theory be true. 

Theatres receive especial condemnation as being 
the work of the evil one. As a distinguished English 
divine says "The theatre in its essence came from 
the Devil . . and is a gift of paganism." Pagan- 
ism and the Devil are here blended in a confusing 
manner. If Christianity itself would eliminate all 
it has imbibed from paganism it would not have even 
a husk left. Hence, if paganism is of the Devil, 
Christianity, as derived in the main from paganism, 
must have the same origin. Had not the Devil in- 
stigated Judas to betray his master, even a second 
time the scheme of the Creator would have miscar- 
ried, for the only manner possible for the crucifixion 
to have taken place was by the interposition of Satan. 
Hence to him must be referred all the good as well as 
evil that has flowed from that event. 

Just now the Sunday cranks are vehemently de- 
claring that the desecration of the Sabbath is among 
the most diabolical of acts. This Sunday desecration, 
according to Rev. Dr. Campbell, in a speech before 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 279 

the Minnesota State Sabbath Union, is "Paganism 
. , . True, a very poiite Paganism, but none the 
less Paganism, pure and simple. You'll find the low- 
er side of it in a Sunday saloon, the Sunday theatre 
and the Sunday prize fight. The upper side you'll 
find in the Sunday excursion, the Sunday newspaper, 
and Sunday drive; but both are as Pagan as anything 
you will find among the Hottentots." Observing 
Sunday instead of Saturday for the Sabbath, it is 
true, is "Paganism, pure and simple." There is not 
a line or word in the Bible mentioning Sunday as the 
Sabbath, or commanding or recommending its observ- 
ance. If there is any pious necessity of keeping the 
Sabbath holy, they who keep Sunday gain nothing 
by so doing, and their vain belief in that day is one 
of the machinations of the Evil One to gather tnem 
all in at last for having pinned their hope of salva- 
tion on a falsehood. 

Paganism gave the world a feebly explosive gun- 
powder, the spear, and arrow; Christianity improved 
these and made the terrible dynamite and nitroglyce- 
rine, the cannon, and repeating rifle, that hurl storms 
of lead and iron into the quivering flesh of contending 
armies, and make war wholesale murder. It is Chris- 
tianity that in its nineteenth century of mission work 
has confronted the nations of Europe, armed to their 
last man, cap a-pie, and made war the business, the 
pleasure, the source of honor and fame of these Chris- 
tian nations. No more brutal condition ever pre- 
vailed among the Pagan nations of ancient times, or 
the barbarous tribes of America or Africa ; the more 
intensely brutal as the refinement of intelligence con- 
trasts with and intensifies the shameful condition. 

When one looks over the Christian portion of the 
earth, with its contesting armies, its plethoric few, 
its starving, ignorant many, its unblushing crime, its 
countless jails, prisons, dungeons, workhouses, and 
hospitals for the cure of unmentionable crimes against 
nature, there is a vague consciousness of the accept- 
ance of the idea so constantly paraded that the Devil 
really does have a controlling interest in the affairs 
of the world. 

Is the devil the strongest? is the profoundly in- 



280 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

teresting question. Will the forces of evil triumph 
over the good? Is the Devil really the omnipotent 
one? Were we by some fatality transferred to the 
Church point of view, we should become extremely 
pessimistic, and wail out in despair. It now seems 
to us, that if we should be thus transformed and be- 
lieved without doubt the doctrines taught in the evan- 
gelical creeds, as their adherents claim they do, our 
reason won Id succumb before the terrible future. To 
the praise of the consciousness in every human soul 
of right and justice, such belief can never become 
more than a confession of the lips. The inner con- 
sciousness utters constant protest against the degrad- 
ing and infamous doctrines, which have made the 
ages of the past a nightmare of demonology. Yet 
while it constantly leads upward to self-assertion, 
that the individual is superior to everything else, 
there is a constant reversion to the old faith as afford- 
ing the most ready explanation of difficulties growing 
out of a want of breadth of comprehension of the 
laws of creation and existence. 

This is well seen in the presence of great calami- 
ties, when the attempt is made to reconcile the good- 
ness of God with the cruelty of the results. Talmage, 
for instance, explains the Conemaugh flood by calling 
in the aid of ' ' the demons of the pit, ' ' as though these 
demons had broken loose from the leash of God, or 
had been set free purposely by Him. If such explana- 
tions be allowed there is no end to the difficulties 
which arise, and there are but two horns to the dilem- 
ma: Either the demons (devils) are stronger than 
God, or God is not infinitely good. In that valley 
were scores of churches, where many times each week 
prayers were offered to the throne of grace for pro- 
tection, yet not one of these prayers was answered. 
While Talmage prefers charges against the "demons 
of the pit," Rev. Joseph Madden boldly refers the 
flood to God. In a speech before the W. C. T. U., on 
the 9th of June, in Pittsburg, he said : 

"I was in Johnstown when the flood occurred, but 
managed, through my own energy and perseverance, 
to escape. Those who had not done so let a warning 
six hours old go unheeded, and waited, were drowned 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 281 

and went to hell!" The murmur of disapprobation 
which followed the utterance of this horrid sentiment 
shook the building, and the greater part of the audi- 
ence left the room and held an indignation meeting 
outside. Rev. Madden explained that his remarks 
were only applicable to the rum-sellers. It appears 
that God had intended to sacrifice Madden, but the 
latter, by his ''own energy and perserverance 
escaped !" To punish the saloon-keepers, God de- 
stroyed thousands of innocent women and children, 
whose every instinct was in favor of temperance, and 
spared not even his own places of worship ! What 
words of execration onght we to use against a doc- 
trine which makes a Rev. Madden of a human being? 

In a beautiful village in Northern Ohio there was a 
fine Congregational Cuhreh, the members of which 
for more than half a century prided themselves on the 
solidity and height of its steeple, the exceptional tone 
of its bell, and their own godliness and staid conserv- 
atism. They had recently celebrated, with prayer 
and thanksgiving, their half-century of existence, and 
happily started toward their centennial. A fire was 
kindled in some old buildings in the town, and soon 
became a sweeping conflagration, only arrested by a 
wide, vacant space. Beyond this were rickety livery 
barns, sheds, and outbuildings, which seemed to invite 
a floating spark, but the fire touched them not, and 
the anxious watchers saw the great gilded ball on the 
church spire, far beyond these, shine like a lamp and 
then burst into a blaze. It was so high, water could 
not be thrown to it, and the burning embers fell on 
the dome of the steeple and the roof of the church, 
which were rapidly wrapped in flames. Afterwards 
it was remembered that a woodpecker had been ob- 
served to bore a hole and build its nest in the ball, 
and in the tinder box thus provided the drifting spark 
had caught. 

Now the question arises, who instigated that wood- 
pecker to build its nest in such an unsual place — 
God or the Devil ? It is not credible that the former 
would desire the destruction of His own house, one 
which the members, heavily taxed to maintain their 
meetings, could so badly spare. If the building had 



282 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

■ 

been a saloon, or kept for any immoral purpose, such 
an interposition of Providence would have been con- 
sonant with prevailing church ideas, but how is it 
reconcilable with the facts? 

Recently the people of a town in Indiana were as- 
sembled to dedicate a new church, and crowded the 
building to suffocation. "While a Rev. Myers, a prom- 
inent evangelist, was in the midst of his fervent ser- 
mon, a small rain-cloud passed over, discharging a 
single bolt of lightning which struck the church chim- 
ney, destroying it, and then ran down the stovepipes, 
tearing the stoves to pieces and the floor beneath and 
around them. All in the congregation were affected, 
and many seriously. One branch of the bolt de- 
scended the pulpit chandelier, under which the 
preacher stood. He sprang into the air, and, turning 
a somersault, came down heavily on his face. It was 
half an hour before he showed signs of life. On the 
back of his head there was a seared spot, and his face 
was badly burned and his eyesight gone. 

IVas it a judgment of God on this congregation 
that had by great effort built a house to the Lord? 
If so. He ought to intimate in some way what His 
"judgment" is for, or ordinary mortals might draw 
the mistaken conclusion that such dedications, and 
especially evangelical preachers, were distasteful to 
Him. And, on the other hand, if the proceedings 
were to His pleasure, if the Devil sent the bolt of 
lightning to destroy the building and harm the peo- 
ple right in the sanctuary, why did not God prevent 
him? If God is all powerful, the permitting of such 
acts is identical with doing them Himself. 

Every day facts like these force themselves on the 
attention, and they need not be multiplied here to 
make clear the difficulties which surround the theo- 
logical view of the origin and destiny of man. It is 
scarcely worth while to review the matter in argu- 
ment, for while still lingering unchanged in the va- 
rious creeds, it is being silently, by tacit consent, al- 
lowed to moulder and gather dust, which already 
conceals its more revolting features. Yet it is well 
to hold in mind, the facts and arguments bearing on 
the subject which every now and then appear, like 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 283 

gibbering ghosts among the living thoughts of the 
present. 

The evolution of intelligence has relegated the con- 
ception of evil as a personal being to the fancies of 
savage races, and cast grave doubts over the exist- 
ence of positive evil as a principle. 

Not the final triumph of Omnipotent God, but its 
own constant and eternal triumph, is the hope and 
salvation of mankind. 

The Abolition of Hell.— The great battle of "Hell" 
has been fought and won by Free Thought. The 
leaders of Christianity, who for almost two thousand 
years have borne aloft the awful banner of eternal 
damnation, have met overwhelming defeat. The 
solid cohorts of conservatism marched forward into 
the battlefield of the present with blaring trumpets, 
armed to the teeth, firmly resolved to suppress every 
new, vitalizing thought. In the centre was hoary 
Catholicism, her garments red with the blood of the 
slain ; her breath fetid with the odor of the grave ; on 
either side were the sects of Protestantism, wrangling 
amongthemselves. Behind was a horrid background, lu- 
rid with the flames and smoke of burning cities, against 
which, ghastly revealed, were the cross and gibbet 
from which swungthosewho dared to think; the plains 
whitened with the bones of fallen heroes. The air 
trembled with the clamor of vultures, the cry of jack- 
als, and moans of women and children. 

"While there was perfection of organization on the 
conservative side, on the liberal each and every one 
fought as in a duel to the death. There was no lead- 
ership. "Let us reason" was the sole watch-cry. 
Thought gathered strength, and suddenly the oppos- 
ing host stood like chattering ghosts, wisps of thin- 
nest fog, and were blown from the light of day ! 
Solid phalanx of dogmas, creeds, observances pleasing 
to God ; huge volumes of scholastic assertions ; infalli- 
ble versions of sacred and holy books, all proved to 
be shadows thrown on the mind, as the Alpine Brock- 
en mirage, dispelled by the first clear light of morn- 
ing. 

Eternal salvation has depended on eternal damna- 
tion, and a belief in Hell has been as essential as a 



284 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

belief in Heaven. The Devil has sat on the throne 
of the Christian world, and been practically regarded 
as an essential member of the godhead. Mankind 
has been ruled by fear instead of love, and eternal 
torture forestalled, in the present of life. 

The fires of hell expire on the horizon. The Devil 
disappears from the godhead. On the barren coast 
mankind has traversed during the nightmare of the- 
ology, still stalk a few sad ghosts, bewailing the good 
old times of theological rule, when the priest was 
everything and man nothing. 

Hell and the Devil (being the cornerstones of the 
Church fabric), taken away, the whole structure tot- 
ters to its fall. If there is no hell, there is nothing 
to save sinners from. If no Devil,- then Adam and 
Eve could not have fallen by his temptation. If not 
fallen, man needs no redeemer. Like a cobble-house 
falls the gigantic castle, the accretion of ages of ig- 
norance and scheming selfishness, at the touch of 
thought. The field is abandoned, and mankind, after 
its martyrdom to the ghouls of fanaticism, and de- 
mons of bigotry, here sets up a triumphal column on^ 
which is engraved : 

On this coast perished the belief in Eternal Damna- 
tion, a fiery Hell, an Omnipotent Devil, with priestly 
rule, and Man became his own redeemer. 



CHAPTER XII. 
THE SPIRIT'S HOME. 



Preparation — Law Rules Supreme — In the Spirit Realm — No 
Miracles — An Unknown Universe — What and Where Is the 
Spirit World? — The Testimony of Spirits Reliable — What 
They Tell Us — Nature Works in Great Cycles — Spirit 
Zones — Form and Distance of These Zones — How Spirits 
Pass From Earth to the Spheres — With What Rapidity? — 
Can They Pass to Other Globes? — Objections — Day and 
Night in the Spheres. 

Is there no grand immortal sphere, 

Beyond this realm of broken ties, 
To fill the wants that mock us here, 

And dry the tears from weeping eyes ; 
Where winter melts in endless spring, 

And June stands near with deathless flowers; 
Where we can hear the dear ones sing 

Who loved us in this world of ours? 

— James G. Clarke. 

There is another invisible, eternal existence, superior to 
this visible one, which does not perish when all things per- 
ish. — Bhagavat Geeta. 

Go, give to the waters and the plants thy body, which be- 
longs to them; but there is an immortal portion, O Djaata- 
vedas! transport it to the world of the holy. — Rig Veda. 

Preparation.— On entering the spiritual domain we 
must cast off the trammels of the schools, which have 
so long fettered the mind. The cant of the meta- 
physician and the egotism of the theologian are the 
chaff which has for centuries buried the truth. They 
avail us not. As candid investigators, nothing but 
positive testimony will satisfy ; and, in obtaining that 
testimony, we must walk out into the fields of nature, 
and question the great principles which speak in sigh- 
ing winds, and babbling brooklets, in the myriad- 
tongued forest murmuring to the passing zephyr, 



286 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Law Rules Supreme.— When we question Nature, 
she tells us law reigns supreme. Not a thistle-down 
floats on the breeze, not a sand-grain is thrown on the 
ocean's beach by the rolling billows, not a bubble of 
foam floats on the hurrying stream, but its every mo- 
tion is governed by immutable laws. Law bounds the 
great world, and dashes it on in its orbit. It sends the 
rushing comet round the central fire, and floats whole 
solar systems on their courses as a feather is upborne 
by the passing winds. Not an atom finds its appro- 
priate place in the living organism but is guided by 
unerring law. 

What more uncertain than the wavy motions of the 
gossamer thread as it dances in the summer winds? 
Yet every motion is governed by law — by the same 
power that chains the moon in its orbit, or rolls the 
earth around the sun. The same holds good in the 
spiritual realm. 

If we think that we are leaving the province of or- 
der and control of established principles when we 
pass from the material to the spiritual, we labor un- 
der the greatest mistake. As the ultimation of the 
material universe, the spiritual is governed by the 
same established principles, modified by superior con- 
ditions. Gravity, attraction, and repulsion, the prop- 
erties of atoms, the relations which exist between 
them, all are preserved ; and we enter as real and sub- 
stantial a world as is the one we leave. 

No Miracles are observed in the phenomena of 
spiritual life. True, we do not understand many of 
the manifestations we observe, because the substances 
with which we deal are impalpable to our senses, and 
are recognized only by their effects; but this only 
shows our ignorance, and not the interposition of a 
miraculous power. 

An Unknown Universe exists beyond the material 
creation. It is formed from emanations arising from 
the physical universe, and is a reflection of it. This 
is the spiritual universe. We have been taught by 
our learned teachers a system of spiritual philosophy 
so vague and undefined that it has served rather to 
blind than to enlighten us. It has inculcated the 



THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 287 

wildest errors, and by its influence, even now, we are 
liable to be led astray. 

If spirit be identity, if it be organic after its separa- 
tion from the body, then it must have a home, and 
that home must be a reality. These are incontro- 
vertible propositions, and are necessarily inferred 
from the fact of spiritual existence. A single prop- 
osition crushes the spiritual fabrication of the theo- 
logian, whose definition of spirit is the best one possi- 
ble of non-entity. According to his system, a spirit 
is a refined shadow of nothing — a collection of 
thoughts. But thought is an effect, not a cause ; and 
standing in his position, and expecting thought to 
exist after the decay of the body, is as rational as to 
look for the hum of a dead bee, or the song of a bird 
after it has flown. 

Nothing cannot originate something. If the spirit 
exists, it must be an entity ; and, if such, must be com- 
posed of matter. It must be organized; and if or- 
ganized, it must have a dwelling place. This conclu- 
sion brings us back to the first inquiry : 

What and Where Is the Spirit World?— In this, as 
well as the manner of spiritual life, and kindred sub- 
jects connected with spirits, the revelations of the 
clairvoyant and of departed intelligences must be 
relied on for our information. 

When the fact of the identity of communicating 
spirits is proved, then the intelligence they impart is 
as reliable as the report of a traveler in a distant 
country. The major portion of our knowledge de- 
pends on such reports; and, if the tale of travels in 
England or Europe be received as true, why not re- 
ceive the report of a departed spirit, who has made 
himself familiar with the scenes he describes? This 
subject does not admit of argument. It is self-evi- 
dent that if spirits exist their description of their 
abode is as authentic as is the report of travelers. 

And What Do They Tell Us?— That the universe is 
undergoing a refining process, and the spirit-world 
is formed from the ascending sublimated atoms. 

Before entering on the discussion of how this is 
effected, let us inquire philosophically whether this 
refining process is really going on; whether there 



288 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

really is a progressive movement in creation, from 
crude and undeveloped conditions to ethereality and 
perfection. 

The present order of nature cannot have had an in- 
finite existence. If we trace backward the geological 
records, through the rocky tablets of earth, through 
fossiliferous transition, and primitive rocks, we ar- 
rive at a beginning of the present system. 

The earth has the marks of infancy, and has yet at- 
tained but its youthful state. In the beginning, geol- 
ogy tells, it was a vast ocean of gaseous matter ; then 
it cooled down to a liquid globe • then a crust formed 
over it, and, by slow degrees, it was moulded into the 
beautiful creation of the present. 

Nature Works in Great Cycles, every returning coil 
being above the preceding. Matter, without a be- 
ginning, must have passed through an infinite number 
of changes, of which the present order is but a single 
and incompleted coil. 

In the infinite duration of the past, universe after 
universe must have been born, have grown old and 
decayed, and new ones have been breathed forth from 
the chaotic elements of the preceding. Still labored 
the forces of organic nature, and at every mighty re- 
turn matter became more refined, its capabilities en- 
larged, and consequently the next system became more 
perfected. This continued until matter, by its supe- 
rior refinement, became capable of forming a universe 
as perfect as the present. 

The objects of the mutations of the organic world is 
the individualization of spirit in man; so the ultimation 
of inorganic mutations is the refining of spiritualized 
matter for the support of that spirit when identified. 

These cycles of revolution are like those of the 
Hindoo theo-cosmoiogy, which teaches that every 
three hundred and sixty thousand years all created 
things flow back into the infinite soul of Brahma, or 
God, and from thence are evolved as a new creation. 
But the periods of return are millions of ages, instead 
of a few thousand years, and, at every return, matter 
arises above its former level. 

In the individualized spirit, the atoms which com- 
pose its organism are elaborated by and derived from 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 289 

the physical body. So are the spiritualized atoms, 
which ascend from animate nature, elaborated. 

To the perception of the spirit, or of the clairvoy- 
ant, these ascending atoms are as plainly perceptible 
as is the ascent of vapor from water. It exhales from 
all substances, as mist rises from a sheet of water. 

The mineral mass, by the processes at work among 
its atoms, and the disintegrating chemical action of 
electricity and magnetism, throws out ethereal parti- 
cles into the great ocean of unindividualized spirit. 

The plant, taking up crude mineral atoms, subjects 
them to the refining process in its interior cells, and 
eliminates the finer particles. 

The animal feeds on the vegetable, and subjects it 
to a refining process, ultimating a proportion of its 
atoms and exhaling them into the atmosphere. When 
the ormal dies, the spiritual element, which retains 
not its identity after the dissolution of the body, 
escapes, as a drop of water evaporates, and mingles 
with the great ethereal ocean. 

The spirit-world is derived from these atoms. Hence 
it is born from this earth as the spirit is born from 
the body. It depends on the earth for its existence, 
and is formed through its refining instrumentality. 
Without the earth there could not have been cor- 
responding spirit-spheres, and there would not have 
been a necessity for them ; so that the existence of the 
spirit-sphere presupposes the existence of a central, 
world. 

Where Do These Particles Go?— Attenuated as they 
are, these atoms gravitate, or they are impelled by 
atractions and repulsions. They are not attracted to 
earth more than the inflated balloon; and, like it, 
they arise from the earth's surface until they reach 
a point where their gravity and repulsion are in 
equilibrium. There they rest. But atoms will par- 
take of different degrees of refinement, and the most 
refined will not rest where the grosser find an equi- 
librium. Hence more than one zone will be formed. 

The Form of These Zones.— If the earth were at 
rest, these ascending particles would rise in straight 
lines from the earth's centre, and a complete sphere 
would be formed, entirely enveloping the earth. But 



290 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the earth rotates on its axis every twenty-four hours, 
or a thousand miles an hour, a velocity sufficient to 
throw out the equator twenty-six miles further from 
the centre than is the distance of the poles from the 
same. 

As the understanding of this proposition is essen- 
tial to the proper conception of the subject, we will 
illustrate it by the familiar instance of drops of water 
being thrown from the surface of a grindstone in 
rapid motion. Two forces produce the phenomena. 
The centrifugal force tends to throw the water off 
in straight lines from the surface; the same force 
tends to throw the world off in a straight line from 
its orbit. The centripetal force draws the drops of 
water to the centre of the wheel, and chains the earth 
to the sun. The motion of the earth in its orbit is a 
mean between these two forces. The same principles 
are true in regard to the diurnal motion of the earth 
on its axis. All its atoms are chained to the centre 
by gravity, but the rapid motion which they are 
obliged to perform ever tends to project them in 
straight lines from the surface into space. This does 
not occur, but their gravity is lessened, more at the 
equator than at the poles, as they are obliged to move 
faster at the former than in the latter position; and 
hence the poles draw inward, while the equator bulges 
outward. The tendency is to produce a ring if the 
velocity were sufficiently increased. 

Spiritual Atoms, Being Affected by the Same Laws. 

partake of the earth 's rotary motion, and revolve with 
it. If the spheres completely surrounded the earth, 
as first supposed, the earth remaining at rest, as soon 
as it began to move the superior velocity of the equa- 
torial regions over the poles would draw away the 
particles from the latter, and concentrate them at the 
equator, producing a zone, the axis of whose revolu- 
tion would coincide with the earth's axis, or it would 
revolve parallel with the equator. 

The Rings of Saturn furnish a fine illustration of 
the form and appearance of the spirit-zones. They 
are belts or rings rotating around that planet, and 
sustained in their position by the equilibrium between 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 291 

the centripetal or tangential force and the gravity 
which draws them toward the central body. 

The spirit-spheres are rather zones than spheres. 
They are one hundred and twenty degrees wide ; that 
is, they extend sixty degrees each side of the earth's 
equator. If we take the sixtieth parallel of latitude 
each side of the equator, and imagine it projected 
against the blue dome of the sky, we have the bounda- 
ries of these zones. 

How Far Are They From the Earth's Surface?— 
The first zone, or the innermost one, is sixty miles 
from the earth's surface. The next external is re- 
moved from the first by about the same distance. 
The third is just outside of the moon's orbit, or two 
hundred and sixty-five thousand miles from the 
earth. 

Although atoms may be sufficiently refined when 
they are first ultimated from earth to pass by the 
first and enter the second zone, yet the second zone 
is, speaking in a general sense, the offspring of the 
first, as the first is the offspring of the earth; and 
from the second, the third is elaborated by a similar 
process to that by which the earth exhales spiritualized 
matter. From the third sphere rise the most subli- 
mated exhalations, which mingle with the emana- 
tions of the other planets, and form a vast zone 
around the entire solar system, including even the 
unknown planets beyond the vast orbit of Neptune. 

Our sun is a star belonging to the milky-way. The 
mild radiance of the galactic zone is produced by an 
immense assemblage of stars, so crowded together 
that their light blends, and appears as a solid mass to 
the eye. With the telescope, however, it appears as 
a dense mass of stars. This system of suns, if it could 
be viewed from a great distance, would appear on the 
sky as an extremely flattened sphere, and our sun 
would be seen as a little star placed in the southern 
extremity of the starry mass. 

As the emanations from the refined planetary 
spheres form a sphere around the solar system, so the 
refined emanations from all the solar systems form 
a still more sublimated series of zones around the 
iriilky-way. The same great principles pervade all 



292 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

of these spheres. The impress of the same law is 
witnessed in the magnificent spheres which surround 
the almost infinitely extended galaxy, as in the pri- 
mary zones which surround the earth and planets. 

There is no miracle here, but the supremacy of the 
same great principles which cause the stone to fall 
to the ground or the sun to shine. 

The Thickness of the Spheres Varies.— The first is 
nearly thirty, while the second is twenty, and the 
third is but two miles in thickness. The first is the 
oldest by immeasurable time, as it was the first to 
begin to form; and until it supported organizations, 
it could exhale but a small amount of refined matter 
to the second, and of course the process was delayed 
still longer in the creation of the third. 

How beautifully harmonious nature has framed, not 
only the constitution of physical, but of spiritual 
things ! There is observable the nicest adjustment 
of harmony and adaption. So fast as creations are 
called for, they are supplied. Nature toiled through 
illimitable ages to produce an identified intelligence. 
She looked through all these ages, and with prophet's 
eye saw that she would succeed, and that her success 
would necessitate a home for that spirit other than 
the gross world it had left. Then she began to build 
its habitation, and that, too, by the same process by 
which she sought to perfect her masterpiece of crea- 
tive force — an identified human spirit. Creative 
energy is at work now as much as when earth was 
evoked from chaos. It toils unceasingly; and as the 
heat and vapor of its workshop, the refined atoms 
constantly rise, floating away to their appropriate 
spheres. 

Tt will be inferred from this that the spheres are 
graudally increasing, while the earth is slowly dimin- 
ishing. Yes, this is one of the most beautiful truths 
which we can contemplate. The tall mountain, 
Which proudly rears its granite peak among the clouds 
bidding defiance to the sleet and storm, on whose 
atlas shoulders the sky lovingly rests, on whose 
brawny back vast forests slumber, from whose sides 
great rivers well; the earth-engirdling ocean, with 
its countless isles and bordering continents • the moon 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 293 

and planets which light up the evening sky *— all are 
undergoing the refining process, and in future ages 
will be "resolved into spiritual elements. 

The mountain shall crumble, the ocean shall be- 
come dry, and the moon and stars fade from the can- 
opy of night; but they will exist, in a more active 
and perfected form, carrying out the grand design 
of creation. 

The surface of these zones is diversified with chang- 
ing scenery. 

Matter, when it aggregrates there, is prone to as- 
sume the forms in which it existed here. 

Hence there are all the forms of life there as on 
earth, except those, such as the lowest planets and 
animals, which cannot exist surrounded by such su- 
perior conditions. The scenery of mountain and plain, 
river, lake, and ocean, of forest and prairie, are 
daguerreotypes of the same on earth. It is like earth 
with all its imperfections perfected, and its beauties 
multiplied a thousand-fold. 

The spirit holds the same relation to this spiritual 
universe that man holds to physical nature. 

The surface of the spheres is solid earth, in which 
trees and flowers take root, and the waters of the 
ocean surge perpetually on the shore. An ethereal 
sky arches overhead, and the stars shine with in- 
creased refulgence. The spirits breathe its spiritual 
atmosphere; they drink its crystal waters; they par- 
take of its luscious fruits; they bedeck themselves 
with its gorgeous flowers. 

It is not a fancy world, nor world of chance or 
miracle; but a real world — in fact, more real than 
is earth, as it is its perfection. 

The spirit walks on its surface, it sails on the lakes 
and oceans; in short, follows whatever pursuit or 
pastime it pleases, and the elements there hold the 
same relations to it that the elements of earth held to 
it while in the physical form. 

I will not enter at present into a minute descrip- 
tion of scenery as it appears to the spirit of the clair- 
voyant. Words are but feeble auxiliaries in the de- 
lineations of a subject so far removed above mortal 
comprehension. It is a reflection of the earth, and 



294 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

holds a close correspondence to it, but can no more 
be compared with it in beauty than the finest minia- 
ture with the coarsest charcoal sketch. 

I pass to the consideration of the next important 
inquiry. 

How Spirits Pass From Earth to the Spheres.— 
Philosophers claim that an ether pervades all space, 
on which the pulsations of light and heat are thrown 
by luminous bodies. This ether, they tell us, per- 
vades all space and all substances, and is the medium 
for transmission of the influence of the imponderable 
agents. 

By their description of this ether, we can readily 
understand the spiritual ether, which also pervades 
all. space. It is not, however, like the former, except 
in its universal diffusion. It is a much more refined 
and active agent, and is a peculiar emanation from 
all globes. 

Ultimated as it is, the organization of the spirit is 
still more refined, and hence it floats as a cork im- 
mersed in water, or a balloon in the atmosphere, hav- 
ing its gravity with respect to the earth entirely de- 
stroyed. 

The ultimated particles from the earth rise and 
rush out of the vast openings at the poles in a spiral 
direction produced by the rotation of the earth. Then 
they diffuse themselves through the atmosphere of 
the first zone, each following its own peculiar at- 
tractions.. 

On these rivers the spirit is wafted from the sublu- 
nary scene, and is ushered into the spirit-world. 

The Philosophy of the Spirit Traveling With Such 
Rapidity is as simple as is that of the other great prin- 
ciples. As its gravitation is destroyed by immersion 
in an ether more dense than itself, it rises, or is 
repelled from all the physical worlds. When it comes 
to earth, the action of the gravitation of the earth is 
to repel it from it, and not to attract. But, by an 
effort of will, the spirit becomes positive to the place 
where it desires to go. Then there arises an imme- 
diate attraction to that place, and it flies through the 
thin ether. 

Can They Pass to Other Globes?— This depends on 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 295 

their degree of refinement. While some are very 
pure and ethereal, others are gross and unrefined. The 
sensualist, the depraved debauchee, in many instances 
are so gross that gravity chains them to the earth's 
surface as it does man. They are denser than the 
spirit ether, and hence have weight, and cannot rise 
from earth. Others, who are more spiritual, can only 
rise to the first sphere; while others, still more re- 
fined, pass at will through the universal ocean of 
ether, visiting other globes and other solar systems. 
The degree of purity or spirituality determines 
whether or no the spirit shall be chained to earth, 
or allowed freedom to travel the ocean of space. 

Objections May Arise.— If the spheres spread out 
above us, why do we not see them? 

Why do we not see spirits with the normal vision? 

The questions are easily answered. It is from the 
relation which they bear to light. Air, like almost 
all other gases, is invisible. No one ever saw atmos- 
pheric air, yet no one doubts its existence. It trans- 
mits light without intercepting the rays, and hence 
is invisible; for we cannot see anything unless it re- 
flects light by which we can see it. If so material a 
substance as air is unseen, though it surges above 
our heads in a great ocean forty-five miles deep, how 
can we expect to see the refined ether of which these 
zones are formed? 

Still further. When we look through a clear plate 
of glass, we cannot see the glass interposed between 
us and the objects beyond. Perfectly clear water 
transmits the rays of light so completely that it is 
invisible unless seen by reflection. 

After such instances, can we ask why the spheres 
are not visible, and why they do not intercept the 
light of the sun and stars? The objection is fully 
met here on scientific grounds, and does not depend 
for its explanation on the mere words of the angels. 

One question more arises, namely : 

What Is the Relation of Light to the Spheres? Is 
There Day and Night There as Here?— The sun's 
light, as is well known to the chemist, is composed 
of an indefinite number of rays mingled together. 
He divides them with his prism, and shows the seven 



296 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

coJored rays, the chemical rays, the magnetic rays, 
etc. We find that light, as it is emanated from the sun, 
is composed of different kinds of rays, each adapted 
for peculiar purposes. 

Each of the spheres retains the rays useful to it, and 
transmits the more gross rays which are adapted to 
earthly conditions. The spiritual portion of light 
is retained as it passes from the sun to earth, while 
the coarser portion is transmitted. Hence the sun 
and stars as certainly appear from the surface of the 
zones as they appear from the earth, and the superior 
do not intercept the view from the lower spheres, be- 
cause they are much more refined than the latter, 
and these are more ethereal than earth. The rays 
of light designed for the first sphere pass through 
the higher without interruption, for they retain only 
their own element. 

The light of the heavenly bodies is much greater 
when seen from the spheres than when observed from 
the earth. The splendor of the stars is greatly in- 
creased, and the radiance of the sun fills the atmos- 
phere with a flood of silver, gilding the scenery with 
an ethereal^ indescribable light. 

If the sun is the source of the light received by 
the spheres, and these revolve around the earth, it 
follows, as a necessary deduction, that there, as on 
earth, day and night must follow each other with the 
unvarying regularity of the rising and setting sun. 
That there should be such alternations of light and 
darkness is a necessity of man's spiritual nature. He 
wearies of the never-changing scene, and the activity 
and repose of nature are more agreeable to him than 
is a monotonous sameness. It is also essentially the 
result of the plan of creation; for nature allows of 
no rest. Worlds and zones must revolve around cen- 
tral luminaries ; and as they bring different portions 
of the surface beneath the central light, day and 
ni^ht — that is, the presence and absence of the lumi- 
naries — must result. 

Thus have we glanced at some of the prominent 
principles connected with the spirits' home, and 
sought to sustain them by the facts of science. They 
may excite prejudice by their novelty; they may be 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 297 

rejected by credulity; they may be scorned by the 
pride @f external philosophy; yet they depend not 
on any of these for support, but on their own truth- 
fulness. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
RESUME-A GENERAL SURVEY OP SPIRIT- 
UALISM. 



The Name — An Eclectic System — We Do Not Live For Self 
Alone — The Old and the New — Infidelity — Protestantism 
Brings from Catholicism Everything but the Pope — Chris- 
tian and Infidel — Can Churchianity Live? — Necessity of 
Spiritualism — Churchianity Compared — Leaderless — Its 
Persistency and Extension— Has It Revealed New Moral 
Truths? — Pleasure of a Belief in Spiritualism — The Com- 
ing Contest — The Totality of Spiritualism — The Rich and 
the Poor — Whatever Is Must Be — We Make Our Own 
Hell, and Walk an Angel or a Devil Therein — Living for 
To-day and Living for To-morrow. 

. The Name.— "Spiritualism has such a load of folly, 
deception, and uncleanliness to carry that I do wish 
it could receive another name/' was the impatient 
remark of one of who had been a believer for many 
years. What has the dross to do with the pure 
metal? They make a mistake who think the bub- 
bling surface of scoria a sample of the metal beneath. 
The good opinion of the world is sweet, but it may 
be gained at too great a cost. We must take our own 
ideas of what is right and true, and the world must 
not be allowed to influence us. If all the currency of 
the United States was counterfeit, except one bill, 
it would not destroy the value of that one genuine 
issue of the mint. 

It stands as the antagonist of Materialism. It 
stands for the science of life, here and hereafter ; for 
the expression of the highest morality and the purest 
religion. 

Where is there another word that expresses a thou- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 299 

sandth part of that of the many-sided, diverse, yet 
unitized meaning of this? Ashamed of the term? 
Every religionist of whatever creed or belief endorses 
Spiritualism. The base of all religions is Spiritual- 
ism, our hope and evidence of immortal life rests with 
it. We might as well say that because the sun shines 
on slimy pools, oozy marshes, and malarial fever- 
glades, it should not receive the name of Lord of Day. 

Its rays, while they expand the blossoms which fill 
the air with fragrance, hasten the decay of the fester- 
ing carcass or reeking cesspool. They breed the mon- 
sters of the slime, as well as they develop the 
poet or the sage. 

If we believe there is a life after the death of the 
physical body; that that life is an infinite prolonga- 
tion and evolution of this ; that the spirit remains un- 
changed in being, changed only in conditions; that 
it may hold intercourse with those in this life, we are 
Spiritualists. 

If we believe that this view of nature carries with 
it the highest, purest, and most practical system of 
morals ; that it is the basis of true religion, expressed 
in the loftiest phases of self-forgetfulness in helping 
others; in noble living from the cradle to the grave, 
we are Spiritualists. If we refer the fleeting changes 
we call creation, from the expanding bud to the re- 
volving sun, to force, which thus being made cogni- 
zant in matter, carries with it as a corollary that it is 
intelligent, loving, and wise, planning for a purpose, 
and pursuing a well defined course to an end pre- 
determined, so pre-determined that man with his 
finite mind often can calculate what it will and must 
be : if we give this power, which is spirit, infinite ex- 
pression, we are Spiritualists. 

When I glance over this vast province that under- 
lies the known, the seen, the heard, the felt, which 
sustains all, is the life and active moving force of all ; 
when I study its expression in the countless suns 
which wheel and dance in the mazy circles of the 
heavens in perfect harmony, holding each other in 
the embrace of magnetic energy across chasms of 
space incomprehensible ; when I turn to the protoplas- 
mic atoms of life's beginning, and trace with what 



300 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

precision through changing forms of plastic being 
man is born into this world, and his higher faculties 
evolved in similitude to the infinite expression of 
spirit in the universe ; when I look into the future of 
cycling ages, and am conscious of the unceasing de- 
velopment, onward, upward, with wider, wider hori- 
zons, until, from the heights of knowledge and moral 
grandeur, the broadening circle embraces far more 
than we now can conceive — the all; there is no word 
as perfect and expressive in its application to all 
these varying yet harmoniously blending aspects, 
forming a system of philosophy and science of Na- 
ture, as Spiritualism. Can there be a better? Can 
there be one of more glorious interpretation? Can 
there be one which places an opposing system at 
greater "disadvantage ? There can be but one other — 
Materialism ; we must either be Spiritualists or Ma- 
terialists. I prof er the former name. I not only pre- 
fer, but am forced to accept it as the title of that 
system of philosophy by the cogency of facts which 
I can not ignore. 

It is the Tree of Life, like the fabled ash of Norse- 
land, which strikes its roots into the foundation of 
the material world and stretches its branches into 
the heavens. What to me is it that weary tramps 
seek shelter under its shade, or now and then a scav- 
enger bird alights in its branches! The nations of 
earth, from generation to generation, have encamped 
around its giant trunk, and the darkest hours that 
have ever tried the souls of men have been gladdened 
by the assurance it gave. 

Let us not give the great World Tree another 
name because a few vagabonds have stolen its fruit, 
or come to us with Sodom apples under its name. 
They have their day, but Spiritualism is without day 
or year, or limit of duration. 

An Eclectic System.— Spiritualism, as a system of 
universal eclecticism, accepts truth wherever found, 
and has no word of scorn, no sneer for any other, 
however false. The pure precepts of the past will 
remain forever, for they rest on the eternal founda- 
tion of man 's relationship to man, and cannot perish. 
Their interpretations may be false ; they may be mis- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 301 

understood, and new light give them an entirely dif- 
ferent meaning. Spiritualism may interfere with 
many darling beliefs of the churches, but never with 
the truth. The record of its progress in the last fifty 
years is that of the intellectual advancement of man- 
kind. 

We Do Not Live for Self Alone.— Beautiful are our 
relations to others — relations which are not only for 
this life, but which grow brighter in eternity. 

A kind word is never lost. If it bears not fruit in 
this life, it will in the next. A spirit told me an in- 
cident in his own life. When on earth he met a news- 
boy. He was an impudent, impish rogue, on whose 
scarred and besmeared face one could not see a line of 
goodness. Well, the spirit, who was then a mortal, 
gave him a kind word. A new light brightened that 
dull countenance ; a new purpose seized him. ' ' Come 
with me," said the man. He placed him at school, 
where he soon equaled and surpassed his fellows, 
and entered life with high purpose and prospect of 
success. 

Said the benignant spirit, "I met that boy in the 
spirit-world. His gratitude was unbounded. It was 
the first time we had met since I placed him at school, 
a boy, with his humanity almost blotted and trampled 
out. The happiness I received from this little action 
has brightened the joy of heaven. It is by such deeds 
we create our heaven." 

Oh, learn of the angels ! The urchins of the streets 
meet no kindness ; instead, scorn, jests, coarse rebuffs, 
turn where they will. They are in the rough tide, 
rushing swiftly to the destruction of the little hu- 
manity they possess. You stretch not out your hands 
to help. Instead of helping you accelerate the cur- 
rent! 

If the principles of Spiritualism were put in uni- 
versal practice to-day, the next generation would 
have no necessity for asylums, jails, or prisons. It 
is as easy to awaken the soul to the beautiful and 
true as to extinguish its light. 

The Old and the New.— There is a philosophy of 
history. Every age furnishes it for the use of the 
ages to follow. If we fail to read, it is because of 



302 THE ARCANA OF -SPIRITUALISM. 

our ignorance. The events of the present are evolved 
out of the past, and the future is nourished by the 
present. Optimists regard to-day as the best, although 
to the conservative it is evil^ the future a night of 
despair; and only in the remote past does he see a 
glimmer of the golden age. His gaze is backward, 
while that of the true reformer is forward. 

Society began in intense individualism, aggrega- 
ting in savage clans. From thence onward the effort 
has been to subdue the individual. During the mid- 
dle ages, combined Church and State nearly accom- 
plished that purpose. There has been a great reaction 
against this oppression, and individualism has been 
again reached in a new form. At first It was the 
individualism of the brute ; the end is the individual- 
ism of^the intellect. 

The conservative says that this is not progress, 
which to him means following the same round, like 
a squirrel, which inside a revolving cage, thinks that 
as the wheel turns he is getting ahead. 

Sometimes a large family grows up following in 
the footsteps of their father. Perhaps one, however, 
wearies of the sameness, and seeks out a new path. 
He discards the trammels of habit which fetter his 
brothers, and sets out for himself. So there are rad- 
ical thinkers who desert the time-worn ruts of usage, 
and make paths for themselves. They are pioneers 
who clear the pathway across the wide continents of 
ignorance, and from mountain summits obtain the first 
glimpses of the beautiful regions in store for those 
who follow. To them comes the inspiration of great 
thoughts, floating like visions of Eden through the 
chambers of their minds, lighting the future with 
resplendent beams, and sending rosy twilight over 
the grey bleakness of the present. 

Radicalism is the ultima thule of Protestantism. 
It is the consequence of the granted right of private 
opinion. If one man has the right to protest, so has an- 
other; and this protestation may go on to the com- 
plete separation of all individuals, leaving all be- 
lieving and acting differently. 

This result is quite the opposite of that desired 
by a respectable class of thinkers who consider har- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 303 

mony the desired end — that individuals should all 
think and act alike. On every hand, we hear much 
said about \ ' harmonious development. ' ' They would 
have us believe that all disagreement should be 
avoided, and that perfection is obtainable only by 
means of perfect unity. This view is little better than 
than the conservative idea of sarificing man to so- 
ciety, making his personality of no account compared 
to the State. 

An example of its result may be seen in Chinese 
civilization, in which the individual is lost in the 
routine of senseless forms and ceremonies. There is 
no growth, and that civilization is effete and dying, 
not of age, but because unable to break through the 
crust of concreted ideas. Conflict, tempest, revolu- 
tion, is the only cure. 

The Protestant of to-day is the conservative of to- 
morrow. 

Infidelity.— An infidel is one who does not believe 
the theology of his time. The Christian is infidel 
to the creed of the Mohammedan, and the latter is 
an infidel in the estimation of the Christian. The 
Brahman is an infidel to Christianity, and the Chinese 
are infidel to Brahmanism. To disbelieve in the cur- 
rent theology is infidelity, and brands "infidel" on 
the disbeliever. Infidelity, as now used by the 
Church, so far from being a term of reproach, is the 
most honorable title that can be bestowed, for it 
means a thinker, one who can aud does think for him- 
self, and acts on his oavu responsibility. In all past 
time, the infidel, he who was branded and scourged 
by the established theology, has been a reformer of 
the world. In order to vindicate a new truth some 
old and deep-rooted errors must be overthrown, and 
to those the reformer must become infidel, and show 
how erroneous they are, as well as prove his own 
truth. 

Jesus Christ, as well as his apostles, was infidel 
to the Jewish laws and ceremonies, and dearly paid 
the penalty usually attached to this crime. Melanc- 
thon, Luther, and Calvin were infidels to the theology 
of their day, as were all the great reformers down 
to the present. The infidel has good company. 



204 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Laplace, and 
Herschell are with him in science, and Confucius, 
Zoroaster, and Christ are with him in religion. He 
need not be ashamed of his leaders, but rather be 
thankful that he is allowed to enter a court so august, 
where all the great minds that earth can boast are 
arrayed in a galaxy of splendor. 

Those who first perceive the light of the dawn of 
the new ideas, and the error of doctrines entertained 
by their fellows, are decried as infidels. And mar- 
tyrdom: the martyr is always an infidel. Theology 
has endeavored to shut out the light of nature and 
suppress reason, and has supplied their place with 
the infallibility of the Bible, and the creeds claimed 
to be founded thereon. 

A thinking man cannot believe without evidence. 
Believing by faith, having faith to believe, and be- 
lieving to have faith, are meaningless phrases. Be- 
lief is mainly a result of education, and reason is en- 
thralled, but when it escapes its bondage, unless the 
belief bears investigation, it is discarded. We may 
think we believe, while we know that it is impossible 
to believe an unreasonable doctrine. Slowly, yet 
surely, it is accepted, Nature and reason, the scien- 
tific interpreation of creation i& the only standard 
authority. If Nature is the work of a God, a revela- 
tion from that God will be in harmony therewith. 

The possession of reason presupposes the right to 
reason, and reason carries with it the right to receive 
or reject. The infidel asserts this right and high 
privilege. If the Bible is of God, it cannot be injured 
by the closest scrutiny, and if it is not true it cannot 
be from a divine source. The truth never suffered 
from reason; error only hides from the light, and 
screens itself in darkness and mystery. The rational 
thinker takes the book* and compares it with the in- 
fallible standard of Nature. It fails, and there are 
antagonisms, contradictions, and absurdities. How 
can he shut his eyes, crush reason, and believe? To 
say he does would be hypocrisy. Have faith! He 
cannot have faith without reason for faith. He can 
not believe without evidence. His eyes are open, and 
he will not close them. He- has not swallowed an 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 305 

opiate, and he is wide awake. To him, the claim 
of infallibility for the book destroys it; its antagon- 
ism with the facts of nature destroys it; and he can 
not help disbelieving it, strive he ever so hard to force 
himself to its reception. This is the philosophical in- 
fidel. It is not from a love of skepticism that he 
is so, but from the unimpeded action of his reason. 

Protestantism Brings From Catholicism Everything 
But the Pope. — Its basis is the same— the Bible. Its 
departure from Catholicism is a departure from rea- 
son. Granting its data, the logic of Catholicism is un- 
answerable; man being incapable of arriving at di- 
vine truth, an infinite God delivers to him an infinite 
revelation. Man, as finite, cannot comprehend this 
revelation; hence the necessity of inspired teachers 
or priests to interpret it to him. Protestantism places 
finite man in direct contact with an infinite God — a 
finite comprehension with an infinite revelation. In 
the latter case, what is the benefit of the exercise of 
reason when the object is beyond the grasp of reason? 
Practically, the two systems are the same ; and what- 
ever power the Bible exerts is because of its being 
accepted as infallible. 

Protestantism is claimed to be the religious system 
demanded by the present. It is emphatically a re- 
ligion of denial. "Thou shalt not" predominates 
over "Thou shalt," in its commandments. It sets 
up the preposterous claim that religion and morals 
can be created outside of man and forced upon him. 
Contrary to this, the field of the world shows that 
moral precepts have no power unless received by the 
intellect. Unless so received they remain dead be- 
liefs, without influence on the life of their believers. 

It is safe to say that ninety-nine Christians in a 
hundred do not gauge their actions by the precepts 
of their religion. It is said that it is easier for a 
camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a 
rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, that the 
poor and ill-used of the world are blessed and en- 
viable; that we should love our neighbors and ene- 
mies as ourselves; that if any one takes our cloak, we 
should give him our coat; that we should take no 
thought for the morrow ; that we should never resent 



306 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

injuries, and if struck on one cheek we should turn 
the other also. When Christians say they believe 
these precepts, they are sincere. They think they 
do, but should any one reduce this belief to practice, 
sell all he had and give to the poor, give his coat to 
the first needy, he would be declared insane by Chris- 
tian judges and sent to a madhouse. In the early 
ages the -heathen Romans exclaimed : ' ' See these 
Christians, how they love each other!" The record 
of the next thousand years was one of demoniac ha- 
tred and cruelty in the name of hat religion. 

Christian and Infidel.— What constitutes a religious 
man? The answer is: Change of heart, baptism, 
joining the church, a regular attendant at meetings 
and regular prayers. If a man do all this, he is ac- 
counted a Christian, regardless of moral delinquencies 
inside of elastic laws. If he does not, although he 
is morally perfect, he is an infidel ! Proud name of 
honor, under which are ranked all the seers, sages, 
and men of thought ! He is the thinker who dares to 
stand alone in his belief, and to endure the curses of 
vile-mouthed bigotry and religious hate. This 
"change of heart" leads to the strangest manifesta- 
tions of intellectual obliquity. What does it mean? 
Simply that the individual will forsake his evil ways, 
and strive to do better. It is the work of a moment. 
The hardened sinner, with conscience calloused to 
every emotion of justice and right, can at once be- 
come a beautiful Christian! This is Catholicism. 
The murderer kisses the crucifix, and dies. Paradise 
awaits him. Had he not kissed the crucifix, hell 
would have been his everlasting doom. 

Does such a religion satisfy? Is not a religion of 
growth demanded, whereby we may each day feel 
that we are more manly and nearer to heaven ? What 
is the incentive for well-doing, if coming at the elev- 
enth hour is as well as coming at the first? Rather 
is it not a premium on guilt thus to be easily par- 
doned ? 

Necessity of Spiritualism.— To the question sent 
out by the Boston Herald to the most distinguished 
clergymen, "What are the strongest proofs and argu- 
ments in support of a life hereafter?" over a score 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 307 

of replies were returned, and the impenetrable fog 
which obscures the vision of these leaders, whose re- 
ligion is founded on the belief in immortality, is the 
strongest evidence of the necessity of the new light 
thrown upon it by Spiritualism. 

Darwin has already expressed the thought of his 
school in a letter wherein he says: "Believing, as I 
do, that man in the distant future will be a far more 
perfect creature than he now is; it is an intolerable 
thought, that he and all other sentient beings are 
doomed to annihilation after such long continued 
slow progress." Yet he concludes, "I cannot pre- 
tend to throw the least light on such abstruse prob- 
lems." 

He is in the dark, and the gospel ministers, whose 
occupation is imploring the people to turn their at- 
tention to the life everlasting, from their answers, ap- 
pear to be in the same darkness. 

Rev. Solomon Shindler, Reformed Jewish Rabbi of 
Temple Adath Israel, declares that there is no proof 
of a life hereafter, either furnished by science or re- 
ligion, and suggests that if there is such a life, we 
shall probably drink the cup of Lethe and forget all 
about this state at death. 

James Freeman Clarke bases his belief in a future life 
on the ground that such belief is "a human instinct," 
that there is evidence that the soul is independent 
of the body; faith in God teaches that he must give 
us immortality, and the resurrection of Christ estab- 
lishes the fact of continued existence after death. 

The Swedenborgians say, "The risen Christ is the 
fact on which the Church is built." It would be 
wearisome to repeat in detail the varied opinions which 
as a whole, agree with the conclusion of Joseph Cook, 
that the resurrection of Christ is the basis of evidence. 
That is all the Bible or the church, at its best, can 
do for mankind, ahungered for this knowledge more 
priceless than all the wealth of the world. It has 
been furnished 1800 years and never has satisfied, and 
now, after a God has died for the purpose of giving 
this evidence, we are told that it is not proven, and 
never can be more than a belief — a blind faith ! When 
this argument of an arisen Christ is brought forward, 



308 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

overlooking the many doubts cast on the historic rec- 
ord, granting all is exactly as stated, what evidence 
of man's immortality is the resurrection of an incar- 
nate God? To prove our immortality, Christ should 
be human like ourselves. He was not. He was an 
incarnate God, according to representation, and there- 
fore, by the fact of his nature, immortal; and his 
resurrection is not evidence that human beings will 
meet with like resurrection from the grave. 

The pulpit unites on the one proof of future life, 
being furnished by the resurrection of Christ as nar- 
rated in the Bible. The claim is made that this evi- 
dence is all-sufficient, yet skepticism increases, and 
the leaders of thought to-day boldly declare their un- 
belief. These ministers bring forward the time-old, 
threadbare arguments which were used by genera- 
tions past, with the charming child-like assurance of 
their profundity and newness, and are totally obliv- 
ious to the changes in thought, wrought in the present 
by new discoveries in science, and what may be called 
the spirit of the age. They have been asleep and the 
world has gone forward into a new spiritual dispensa- 
tion, and they know it not ! 

For upwards of fifty years the spirit world has been 
in direct intercourse with the world of mortals, yet 
none of these ministers of the gospel have heard of 
it, or if they have, dare mention the fact. In com- 
parison with a single rap vibrating through the cable 
which spans the tide between the supernal sphere 
and this, what are all the arguments that may be 
brought ? There is the one undeniable fact, and who 
can gainsay it? 

Faith has been transformed to knowledge. The 
antiquated views are of interest as showing a pre- 
ceding age of thought, fossilized, as fossils in the rock 
please by presenting views of the monsters of an 
earlier time. How long will religious teachers go on 
after the old style arranging and re-arranging rea- 
sons pro and con, blind to the only unanswerable 
evidence which is furnished to their hand? 

If we wish to prove that man was immortal, we 
should not speculate, or appeal to the example of the 
death and resurrection of an incarnate God, but 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 809 

would triumphantly point to the facts of Spiritual- 
ism. 

Churchianity and Spiritualism Compared.— This 
religion is a philosophy; this philosophy is a religion. 
It takes man by the hand, and instead of telling him 
that he is a sinful worm of the dust, corrupt from 
the crown of the head to the sole of his foot, it as- 
sures him that he is a nobleman of nature, heir 
to the Godhead, owning all things, for whom all 
things exist, and capable of understanding all. He 
is not for to-day ; not acting for time, but for eternity ; 
not a mushroom of a night, but a companion of ever- 
lasting worlds. Ay, more : he will bloom in immor- 
tal youth when these worlds fade and the stars of 
heaven are dissolved. What he writes on his book 
of life is indelible. 

What a position is occupied by man ! On one hand 
are the lower forms of nature — the brutes of the field; 
on the other, the archangels of light, towards whom 
he is hastening, one of whom he will become after 
death shall have cast from his spirit its earthly gar- 
ments. 

Spiritualism is not a religion descending from a 
foreign force, to be borne as a cross: it is an out- 
growth of human nature, and the complete expression 
of its highest ideal. Have you a truth? — it seizes it. 
Has the savage a truth? Spiritualism asks not its 
origin, but makes it its own. You may take the 
sacred books of all nations — for all nations have their 
sacred books — the Shaster of the Hindoo, the Zenda- 
vesta of the fire-worshiping Persian, the Koran of 
the Mohammedan, the legends of the Talmud, and on 
them place our own Testaments, the Old and the New; 
you have brought together in one mass the spiritual 
history, ideas, emotions, and superstitions of the early 
aeres of man ; but you have not Spiritualism ; you have 
only a part of it. You may take the sciences — the 
terrestrial, intimately connected with the telluric do- 
main, teaching the construction and organization of 
our globe, and the cosmical, treating of the infinite 
nomenclature of the stars : you have not Spiritualism 
^you have but a part. 

Spiritualism comprehends man and the universe, 



310 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

all their varied relations, physical, intellectual, moral, 
and spiritual. 

It is the science and philosophy underlying all 
others, It reaches to the beginning of the earth, 
when the first living form was created ; for even then 
man the immortal was foreseen, and the forces of na- 
ture worked only in one direction — that of his evolu- 
tion. It reaches into the illimitable future, borne on- 
ward by man's immortality. 

Would you narrow its domain to the tipping of 
tables, a few raps, the trance of mediums? You 
might as well represent the vast Atlantic by a drop 
of water, the glorious sun by a spark of fire, as to 
represent Spiritualism by these phenomena. Yet 
these are not to be spoken of lightly. They are the 
tests of spirit identit}^, of which the world had long 
stood in need. 

Spiritualism should not be considered as a graft 
on Christianity, as Christianity was on Judaism, nor 
as a revival of religious ideas. It supplies the knowl- 
edge man has long sought and has not found. His 
demand is not for a revelation written in a book, to 
be expounded by a hierarchy allied with mystery, 
with partiality for a privileged few; but for a system 
meeting the wants of the people; entering directly 
intb their social, intellectual, moral, and political 
lives: which is not afraid of the soil of labor; not 
offended with the jar of commerce, nor abashed at 
high places. A system presenting a just view of 
man's duty, destiny, and immortal relations; having 
its proof drawn from the physical and* psychical 
worlds, and responded to by the intuitions of the soul. 
Can history yield one passage wherein the divinity of 
man is advocated, and the right of each to perfect 
that divinity until he becomes a law unto himself? 
Spiritualists are the only people who have this fire 
on their altars; who by religion are democratic. 
Spiritualism is purely so. See how it arose, and how 
it has advanced. From a simple rap in an old house, 
in an obscure hamlet, it has steadily marched onward 
for the last score of years. It has never had a leader, 
yet its aim and its doctrines are remarkably consist- 
ent. The refined and educated medium, enjoying the 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 311 

advantages of a city, and the boy-medium of the back- 
woods, receive communications enunciating the same 
great truths and embodying the same philosophy. All 
over the land such communications are received, in 
substance identical. There is harmony amidst di- 
versity ; for, however much communications may dif- 
fer, they do so no more than individual ideas differ, 
and they substantiate the individuality of the intelli- 
gence purporting to communicate. In the funda- 
mental elements of their teachings there is perfect 
accord. 

Leaderless. — It is a singularity of the Spiritual 
Movement that it has spread with a rapidity unpar- 
alleled in the history of any other Cause, while it has 
not received the aid of any leader. No one has stood 
at the head of its believers to direct their movements. 
It has denounced leadership, and those who have 
sought the place have been cast down. Other move- 
ments have had great and talented men to vindicate 
their claims to the world; they have had leaders 
claiming infallibility. But Spiritualism sprang into 
being, and no one can say when, how, or by whom, 
and has extended itself to all civilized lands. 

The individual is his own priest. If he has sins, 
he must confess them to himself. If Christ did not 
die for him, there is no devil to torment him. It is 
not an easy doctrine, and it is not astonishing that 
sometimes recruits go over to the other side. They 
are weary of the conflict. There is no certainty, no 
authority in which to trust. The old, loved and rev- 
erenced, may any day be overthrown. They return 
to the fleshpot where there is certainty, rest, and no 
conflict of ideas. An infallible creed is an easy doc- 
trine. To all questions comes the ready answer, 
"God wills it." Nothing unexplained, everything 
set at rest by the "mystery of godliness." 

Is it desirable that Spiritualists have one cut of 
garment? The Catholics said that Catholics should 
have that a thousand years ago. The priests made 
suits of baby-clothes, and the laity have worn them 
ever since. They tied their members with leading 
strings, and have never untied them. That we con- 
sider folly. The difference between it and fashion- 



312 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

ing garments for the present, however, is only a dif- 
ference of time, not of character. Baby-clothed 
Catholic or frock-coated Spiritualist — in principle is 
the same. It is fashioning all men's garments after 
one pattern, not the pattern, that is disclaimed. 

A creed advocating vicarious atonement, or dis- 
carding the same, is equally acceptable. It is not 
what the creed contains, it is the creed itself, which 
we repudiate. To subscribe to a creed acknowledges 
the suprenmacy of its doctrine over the individual. 
Its boundaries are those set by its makers, and yield- 
ing to it, is hedging one's self by those boundaries. 

The Persistency and Extension of Spiritualism.— 
Christ was born in a manger: how many centuries 
elapsed before a single million believers bowed at his 
shrine ? Mohammed arose out of the royal family of 
Arabia, and propagated his revelations by the sword ; 
yet how many years before he counted his followers 
by millions? 

The press has used its mighty energies to put down 
the young giant (Spiritualism), the enginery of the 
church, and all the skillful appliances of public opin- 
ion, have been brought to bear, but in vain. Rapidly 
it springs into strength, and, proving the old fable 
of Atlas possible, bears the world on its broad 
shoulders. 

The mortal world may be divided, but the nobility 
of intellect of the spirit-world is one. From it flows 
the power reposing beneath all manifestations wher- 
ever displayed, always the same, varied only by cir- 
cumstances. The plan is matured in the spirit-world, 
and from thence measured out to man as he needs. 
"We are engaged in a movement which is ultimately 
to overturn the fabric of the world's present moral, 
social, and intellectual philosophies, and its most dar- 
ling theologies; a movement wide and deep as infini- 
tude. Yet in this desperate conflict we acknowledge 
no leadership except that of the spheres. 

The most humble medium, or obscure circle, is per- 
forming a work perhaps greater than that of the most 
able lecturer on the rostrum. This we assuredly 
know— whatever each does, it will harmonize with 
the work of others. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 313 

Man may walk blindly, but there are eyes that see 
for him, that he go not far astray. 

Can ideas so intensely radical and revolutionary 
nourish in any other soil? No police can prevent 
their utterance in France; they startle the critical 
sages of Germany, and are welcomed by the Czar of 
Russia. They go forward silently now — the form 
they will assume, around which the masses will rally, 
the future will determine. No barrier can obstruct 
them, because forced onward by spirit power. 

Has It Revealed New Moral Truth?— The oppo- 
nents of Spiritualism exclaim : What new moral 
truth has it presented? What has it accomplished? 
As it would be impossible for it to do so, no such 
claim is made. Christianity, the vaunted engine of 
civilization, uttered no principle which was not 
known immemorially before its advent. A new sys- 
tem is not what we demand. We are systematized to 
death already. We want to be rid of what we have. 
To patch up the ruins of theocratic religion is not the 
mission of Spiritualism. It comes as the great light 
of our century, because a sufficient number of ad- 
vanced minds are educated up to its plane, and are 
disenthralled from reverence for any system. They 
receive it because it is not a system; because it is 
poured out copiously and freely as the sunlight, to 
be received or rejected, as pleases the hearer. 

Would you harness this young giant in theological 
traces, and compel it to drag the dead systems of the 
past after it? Then would you defeat its purpose, 
and set back the hands on the dial of human progress 
many a weary hour. Spiritualism is the philoso- 
pher's highest conception of his relations to the spir- 
itual universe, his fellow men, and spirits; the living 
thought of the age, ultimating not in the perfection 
of religion, but in intellectual superiority, which goes 
onward and rounds the character in moral complete- 
ness. 

Man needs not an external revelation, but an in- 
ternal illumination, whereby he can understand the 
relations he sustains to himself, his brother men, and 
the physical world. Such an illumination is bestowed 
on, though not perceived by, all. The myriad hosts 



314 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

of the angel world are around us. They mingle in 
the affairs of men. Their atmosphere is an exhaust- 
less fount from which we draw our thoughts. 

Not to the skin-clad prophets and seers of old, fierce 
wanderers of the desert, are we to look for authority. 
They were warped and dwarfed by superstition, and 
narrow indeed were their views of human needs. A 
fountain of exhaustless flow is presented to every one, 
exhilarating as Castilian waters, as life-giving as the 
fabled springs of perpetual youth; and every one 
can thereby become inspired and a prophet unto him- 
self. 

The Pleasures of a Belief in Spiritualism.— With 
what pleasure we contemplate the world of spirits 
that surrounds us! There are congregated the wise 
men, the sages, the prophets, the philosophers of the 
ages gone. They have all passed up the glittering 
pathway to the immortal land. We are travelers up 
the same way, and they are our instructors and 
guides. True, the veil of invisibility divides the 
world of spirit from the world of men, but otherwise 
there is little distinction. 

Intricate and beautiful are our relations to the 
angels. They are our friends, our relatives, the good 
and great gone before us, superior in knowledge and 
experience, with love and friendship increased in the 
measure of their greater capacity. 

Ah; you who profess to believe that the spirit at 
death is removed to a far-off country — that it has no 
communion with earth — you should behold the groups 
of those spirits as they bend over their earthly 
friends, and the intense interest they manifest in their 
welfare. 

We have all a greater interest in the hereafter than 
in the present; our deepest hopes lie there, and we 
listen with rapture to the voices from the great be- 
yond. 

My grey-haired friend, years ago you were called 
to lay in the cold and narrow grave the loved com- 
panion who made life a constant June day of- joy. 
You wept then; and now, as I lift the misty curtain 
of the past, you weep. The heart grows sad as I tread 
the halls of; sacred memories. The years have come 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 315 

with iron feet ; but they never can obliterate the mem- 
ory of the departed, which beneath the searching 
frosts, like the mountain evergreen, grows fresher. 
Ah! you consigned the body back to mother earth; 
the spirit, fledged in immortal life, rested over you 
unseen, perhaps unfelt. Has that spirit departed? 
Are you left loneJy, forsaken, a weary pilgrim with- 
out hope? Let me raise the veil, and show you how 
intimately the world of spirits blends with the world 
of men. Could your spiritual perception be quick- 
ened, you would see your loved one, the same as 
when you first knew her in youth and beauty, a 
guardian angel by your side. 

Mother, you have wept for a darling child you had 
watched with tenderest care. Just when you thought 
your happiness complete, and your life was melted 
into that of the loved one, a chilling breath snatched 
it from you. 

A little grassy hillock in the churchyard, a little 
white slab and a name ! Is that all ? 

Nay, that body resting there is not your child, but 
his worn garment. Your child is not lost, but is here 
by your side in radiant beauty, with affection for you 
heightened by the harmony of his angel-life. 

Many, alas ! how many, sent their loved ones forth 
to the storm of war. One died in the fierce struggle 
of Antietam, pierced by bayonet; another was torn 
to fragments by a parvoll shell; another went down 
in a fierce cavalry charge ; another lay wounded amid 
the dead, and his precious life went out beneath the 
crushing wheels of artillery ; another died a thousand 
deaths in that prison of horrors, the name of which 
is too loathsome to utter. 

Mother, the vacant chair at your hearth is a source 
of unending affliction. Weeping wife, when your in- 
fant asks for its father, you will say, ' ' He went forth 
to the strife, and was drawn into the fierce whirlpool 
of death; all that he has left us is his proud name 
and immeasurable sorrow." 

Patriotism supports you not. Your country's gain 
is your countless loss. Brothers, fathers, sons, and 
friends, who went forth with high hopes and lofty 
ambition, are now beyond the veil of darkness, and 



316 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

on earth write their names no more. The poor privi- 
lege of gazing on their inanimate clay was denied 
you, for rude hands threw them into a common grave, 
where the wreck of valor was indiscriminately 
plunged. 

Is this the reward for your sacrifice, bitter anguish, 
and tears ? Ask the question of Spiritualism, and its 
answer is a balm more precious than Gilead's. Like 
the sound of the waterfall to the parched traveler 
in the desert come the silvery voices of departed 
friends, softening and subduing the asperities of life, 
cheering us onward to better aims and loftier endeav- 
ors. They call, sweetly and musically call, '0 man, 
brother, sister ! come up hither ; partake of these foun- 
tains, and thirst no more." 

You have heard of the happy dying. How beauti- 
fully shone the light of heaven over their reposing 
features ! And even after the dissolution a smile 
like the radiance of sunset played upon their calm 
faces. Ah! death is the key whereby the spiritual 
perceptions are unlocked; and, long before the final 
breath, it opens man's vision to the future, and he 
sees the bright springs and clear waters and green 
fields and radiant spirits immortal. 

From this standpoint we can take a broad survey 
of our relations to the future. We are not creatures 
of a moment : our existence is not like that of a cloud 
sweping the sky, to be dissolved into nothing; but 
ours is a companionship of worlds and stars, aye, 
more enduring than are they. 

We have many lessons to learn from this contem- 
plation. By it we comprehend our duty to lower, 
and our relation to higher orders of intelligences. 
The brutes of the field (our ignoble brethren), all the 
forms of life beneath us, require our kindness, love, 
and sympathy; the angels of light, our elder brothers, 
call forth our emulation, reverence, love, and wisdom. 

The Coming Contest.— In Spiritualism, Protestant- 
ism has become clear of Romanism, casting off creed, 
church, and priest, and gained freedom for all. 

Catholicism is a product of the Old World, Spirit- 
ualism of the New. One is in senility, the other in 
its youth. The intelligence, learning, and hope of 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 317 

the age are on the one side ; on the other are bigotry, 
superstition, and darkness. On the one hand is con- 
servatism, or Catholicism, resting on the infallibility 
of a book expounded by infallible teachers, sur- 
rounded by gorgeous trappings, calculated to excite 
the attention of rude nature, to stifle inquiry, denying 
the right of reason, ignoring the individual, and ab- 
sorbing all into its masses; on the other hand, Spirit- 
ualism, setting the individual free, trampling on the 
traditions and mythologies of the past, declares man 
to be the most sacred object in the universe. 

The two systems are diametrically opposed. One 
looks to the past; the other to the future. Which 
shall triumph ? 

Humanity never goes backward; it moves ever to- 
wards the right; for there is a Divine Power which 
wrenches human actions after an omnipotent plan. 
The leaf torn from the branch by the autumn winds, 
the bird carolling its song of gladness, the sand-grain 
roiled by the tide, the drop of dew on the flower; all 
things, from the least active of tiny life to the gigan- 
tic efforts of the elements, work after a prescribed 
plan, from which there cannot be the least departure. 
So with man. He works, seemingly, fortuitously; 
but there is no chance. He puts forth his bravest ef- 
forts in the tide, striking out for this or that object; 
but the strong current bears him onward to a goal 
well known and undeviatingly approached, however 
unknown to him. The Divine Energy has marked out 
a plan, an archetype to be attained in future ages; 
and the powers of darkness, though they ally them- 
selves to hold the wheel of progress, will find that 
thej do so only to be crushed into oblivion. They 
will retard it only for a time. The bringing together 
of such opposing forces will, of course, produce con- 
flict. They already begin to mingle in our national 
affairs, in the affairs of all great rations. 

Spiritualism in France speaks through its past he- 
roes, and she feels the effects of superior wisdom. It 
is the dawn of a new day, when departed intelligences 
will mingle in the affairs of men. Again, it speaks 
to the Czar of Russia, through a spiritual medium; 
and the people of the vast steppes, stretching from 



318 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, from the Altai to the 
Arctic Sea, feel its breath ; the chains of the serf fall 
from his festered limbs and millions arise free men, 
ready for a glorious career of progress. In England, 
the higher classes are impressible to spirit thought, 
and its civilization begins to glow with new vigor. 
The garroted masses awake at the new voice. Priest 
and king feel that what they considered solid earth- 
earth formed of prostrate human beings, cemented 
together by concrete blood and tears — has no con- 
sistency, but heaves like the billows of the stormy sea. 
The breath of the Divinity is abroad. They hear its 
call, and arise. 

Thus marshalled, the two forces are to wage a 
war of extermination. Not here alone, but over the 
whole world; and the end, after misery and suffering, 
will be the destruction of creeds, superstition, and 
dogmas, the severing of all shackles, whether of body 
or spirit, and the Universal Brotherhood of Man. 

The Totality of Spiritualism.— The ideal of creative 
energy through all the vicissitudes of the past from 
the chaos of the beginning has been the evolution of a 
perfect man, that through him in a direct line might 
be evolved an jmmortal spirit. 

Evolved from and by the forces of nature, being 
their concentration, or rather centrestantiation, man 
is an integral part of the universe. In him the his- 
tory of the past is written. He is capable of com- 
prehending all, because a part of all. In his mind 
are laid the orbits of solar systems and galvetic uni- 
verses. 

He makes grooves in which he compels the ele- 
ments to run, by embodying his ideas in matter. All 
he dots is the concretion of pre-existing thought. 
The engine— beautiful, perfect, a miracle of work- 
manship — the telegraph, and the steamship, are ideas 
clothed with matter, embodied thoughts. 

For a moment lay aside all prejudices ; let your re- 
ligous education be as though it had never been; and 
calmly contemplate this being, with such antecedents, 
such universal relations, such boundless capacity, 
and such a destiny. Will you not scorn any system 
that offers violence and insult to the integrity of his 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 319 

character? ay, trample underfoot the supposition that 
he is destined for anything but the unlimited progress 
of angel-life ? 

Such are the broad deductions of Spiritualism. 

Man is not to be miserable on earth to enjoy heaven 
in the hereafter. We stand in the courts of heaven as 
much this hour, we see as clearly the presence of 
God now, as we shall a thousand ages hence. We are 
our own saviors, achieving salvation for ourselves. 
This is the religion of the future. Other systems will 
linger with the races of men whose highest ideal they 
represent; but from the courts of the world's intel- 
lectual Dobilit} they will vanish, and be spoken of as 
myths which once aided infantile progress; leading- 
strings necessary to walk by until the use of our limbs 
had been attained. 

The Rich and the Poor.— You scorn the serf, who by 
oppression and poverty, has become ignoble; thedelver 
in the mines, whose language has been reduced to a 
few hundred words, relating to his immediate wants. 
You scorn the outcast, the unfortunate, the criminal, 
Rather should you pity, remembering that if placed 
in their posiiton, with their antecedents, you would 
be exactly as they, and do as they do. 

Mocking pharisee, who draw your cloak close 
around you for fear of contact with these; did you 
have a choice of endowment given you? Were you 
consulted as to the sphere of life into which you were 
born? Did the vagabond, of whom you thank God 
for not being like unto, choose his estate? Then take 
no praise for being as you are, nor censure him for 
not being otherwise. 

The missionary may talk religion to starving men; 
and when the beggar's children cry for bread, he 
may give them— tracts. Spiritualism has quite an- 
other office. The poor have we with us always; and 
because consumption exceeds production, there is mis- 
ery and crime. It is hideous — this wolf-pang of hun- 
gry poverty — to see disease, engendered by want, 
snatching one's children in its greedy jaws; to see it 
obliterate the lines of health from their features, and 
write there the livid lines of death ! It is well the law 
is written in blood; well that constant pressure ob- 



320 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

literates the keener senses of the soul; else these 
chained savages of society would lay their firm grasp 
on the bread of the wealthy. 

It is not done, but not because they have no feeling. 
A human heart in fustian beats as ardently as in 
broadcloth. The mother in rags has as deep affection 
for her child as the mother in satin, though some- 
times, in its struggle through misery, it appears more 
like animal instinct than human affection. The fault 
is not with the individual ; it is with the nation and the 
times. The struggle for existence is terrible, and 
the path of advance is paved with human hearts. 
The under-structure of society can have, at most, but 
little pleasure, and the time for the enjoyment of even 
that is denied to them. 

Why wonder at their excesses ? The physical frame 
is prostrated by physical labor. Stimulants for a 
time restore its tone. It is as urgent for the over- 
tasked to seek them, as for the thirsty to desire 
water. A passing enjoyment is wrung from soul- 
blasting intoxication, but draw the^ mantle of charity 
over these poor crushed souls, for such enjoyment is 
all that is left them. 

On the other hand, the men of thought— thinkers, 
writers, or those who hold the commerce of the globe, 
and with steam and sail weave the web of nationali- 
ties close and strong; who represent the brain as the 
others do the hands of Society — by overtasking fall 
into the same state. Constant overstrain produces 
depression. Sleep does not refresh, they do not enjoy 
• the pleasures of life, and are at home only when fol- 
lowing the routine of business. 

What has Spiritualism to do with the poor or the 
rich? Everything. Just ahead there is equality. 
The green fields of heaven are not owned nor sold by 
title deed. There are no mortgages there— no rent; 
but as the air is free, so are all things free in that 
abode. At once death shakes from poverty its dead 
weight, and the spirit no longer feels its canker, nor 
is crushed by what poor mortals call the justice of 
law. 

How inconsistent to make laws to rob man of his 
mother earth, which Nature proclaims belongs to 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 321 

him who cultivates it, and then blame him for pov- 
erty, as though it were a crime ! Title deeds cannot 
hold the sunlight, the water, or the air, else these 
would have been held with the land, and the unfor- 
tunate would be censured for not breathing and slak- 
ing their thirst. 

Do not all do the best they know how? Can we 
not always give reasons for our conduct satisfactory 
to ourselves? We censure because we judge from 
our own standpoint, wholly ignorant of the thoughts 
and motives which actuate the censured. We always 
yield to the strongest influence, right or wrong. 

If a tiger spring on a man and rend him, who blames 
the tiger? He is only acting out the requirements 
of a tiger's nature. When a man, born with a tiger's 
organization, and that inflamed by years of wrong, 
acts out his nature, is he more to blame ? Is he more 
blamable than the man, born with a benevolent or- 
ganization, who acts benevolently? 

Do not understand me as upholding "Whatever is, 
is right." On the contrary, I hold that "Whatever 
is, is wrong." We must all join in righting it. 

"Whatever Is, Must Be."— And there should be no 
praise, no censure, for its being thus. 

This doctrine varnishes no fault. There is only one 
right way, and that obedience to law ; and if you fail, 
do not support yourself by saying, "I am as I am;" 
for the first step in progress is the recognition of this 
very doctrine, and the next, endeavoring to over- 
come the impediments of your condition. Your re- 
maining in the wrong plainly says you are ignorant 
of the right. 

The ideal man of Spiritualism is perfection. Would 
that I could paint to you the beatitudes that cluster 
around such an one, and breathe into you his lofty 
aspirations ! 

That ideal man loves truth for its own sake, be- 
cause it is truth, not from any good he expects to de- 
rive from it ; loves justice because it is justice ; loves 
right because it is right. 

There are many who profess to love truth, justice, 
right; but on analysis, they love only their special 
forms— not the divine, eternal, and universal. We 



322 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

see men, every day, ready to defend what they call 
by these names ; but they so style some speciality, and 
know little of universal justice, right, and truth. 

The love of these, in their universal quality, is the 
perfection of manhood. This love sustains the mar- 
tyr, and makes the burning coals a bed of down, com- 
pared to their violation. They are the fountains from 
which flow all the nobleness of a true life, and they 
never yield bitter water. 

When the love of these exists, the individual never 
fails in their requirements; for, where the universal 
exists, the special will well out, as occasion demands, 
from its exhaustless fountain. 

The effect of these three great principles, the rep- 
resentatives of the Spiritual philosophy of ethics on 
the character of the man, is the development of per- 
fect manhood. 

That is the great end and object of living. If we 
do not advance, we might as well not live. If we are 
not growing in wisdom, and developing angelic quali- 
ties, our life is a waste, and we should make haste 
to recover the right path. 

How shall the great purposes of life be attained? 

By discarding the things which are only for to-day, 
and doing those which have an eternal relation. 

Every organ has an appropriate function to per- 
form, and the proper activity of all is the highest 
state of health and pleasure. The legitimate action 
of all is equally holy. It is perversion that causes 
disease and suffering, and the perversion of the mor- 
als is as disastrous as that of the passions. To cramp 
and dwarf one faculty, and cultivate another to ex- 
cess is detrimental, even if the over-wrought faculty 
be the highest moral feeling. 

Do that which has an eternal relation. 

Happiness, then, will not be evanescent but an 
abiding quality. The business of the world is the 
contrary. Those who devote themselves to the ac- 
quisition of wealth, are dwarfed, often morally 
idiotic, outside their business. At death there is no 
demand for the qualities of mind that have been cul- 
tivated. The man stands on the other side of the 
grave a miserable, enfeebled soul. If the angels dealt 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 323 

in mortgages and stocks he would feel at home. He 
finds that he has no treasures laid up in heaven, and 
that his life has been wasted in an idle chase for bau- 
bles of no consequence to the growth of immortal 
life. 

What a treasure is the proper cultivation of the 
mind ! There is a learning worse than ignorance. The 
bias given by creeds or cramped religious systems, 
is more detrimental to the spirit's groAvth than de- 
ficiency of learning. Such systems distort the mind, 
and form an untruthful medium through which it 
views humanity. 

The right culture is founded on the principles of 
truth, justice, and love. These have existence in the 
constitution of man, as well as in external nature, 
wherein their manifestations may be read. 

The great object of being is a manly life. We are 
not dwellers on the shores of Time, but of Eternity. 
Though we do the best we know how, we have capa- 
bilities of doing infinitely better. Life is a school for 
discipline. We should co-ordinate and harmonize all 
our faculties, living and acting true to our highest 
light. 

Not in organization do we wish to find the excel- 
lency of Spiritualism, but in the individual. It makes 
no difference how strong, how excellent, how pure the 
party is to which he belongs, if he is wrong. The 
sacrifice of the world would be of no avail. Sin lies 
not with the body; all transgression is of the spirit. 
The higher powers should rise above the lower, and, 
duly co-ordinated, control them. 

We Make Our Own Heaven and Our Own Hell, 
and Walk an Angel or a Devil Therein, not only in 
the free realms of spirit-life, but now and here on 
earth. 

Such is the religious aspect of Spiritualism. It is 
the combined moral excellence of the world. It is 
the essence of Christianity; but, while the latter in- 
volves itself in creeds and churches, the former ac- 
knowledges no other creed than the laws written in 
the natural world, no other interpreter than reason, 
no church but mankind. 

While the churches descant on the efficacy of 



324 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

prayer, Spiritualism teaches that one good deed is 
worth all the formal prayers since Adam 's time. 

He believes in prayer, but in that prayer by which 
the workman moulds iron into an engine, and wood 
into chips — the prayer of the hand and head as well 
as of the heart. 

While the church prays God to help the needy and 
suffering, the Spiritualist becomes the messenger, giv- 
ing that help. Such is he — large-hearted, open- 
handed. That is the difference. He has gone past 
all churches, and drank at the fountains where the 
Apostles drank. All trappings are stripped away, 
and the pure ethics of the world's sages are the ethics 
of Spiritualism. 

Living 1 for To-day and Living for To-morrow.— I 
love to contemplate the future of life, with all its 
grand possibilities, by which the spirit, however 
dwarfed by the accidents of time and place, may out- 
grow all deformities, and become beautiful as a dream 
of loveliness. Over there, sad heart, is the joy which 
knows no sorrow ; over there, pilgrim wandering in the 
falling shadows, is the light which is never obscured 
by clouds ; over there, when the heat and burden of the 
day is done, the weary hands will rest and the sore 
feet walk not on flinty pathways; over there the 
blighted hopes, the fond anticipations, the rose- 
hued dreams of vouth will find fulfillment, and more 
than all, there will be greetings from dear ones await- 
ing on the purple heights which overlook the grave. 

It is like a delicious dream of Eden, that future, 
where the spirit shall know as it is known, and be free 
to expand all its faculties and realize its aspirations. 

But more attractive is the fact that this earthly 
life all its attainments, intellectual, moral, and spirit- 
bryo from which it is evolved. We are spirits now 
as much as we shall be after the separation from the 
mortal body. Death can work no change in our be- 
ing; only in our condition. We remain the same. 
We have stepped out of the old garments; we have 
ascended another rung in the ladder of life ; the bird 
of song has escaped from the broken bars of its cage, 
but its voice is unchanged. Life is continuous, and 
the future is the prolongation of this. There is no 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 325 

break, and the spirit carries forward into the next 
life all its attainments, intellectual, moral, and spirit- 
ual. It follows, then, that the spirit world begins 
with earth as its first preparatory stage. We are 
wearing day by day the raiment of our celestial be- 
ing, and laying rip treasures which will meet and 
bless us. 

Already in the spirit-world, endowed with the her- 
itage of immortality, we have entered the Courts of 
Keaven and walk with the angels. Not to-morrow is 
the day of our salvation, or the entering into joy un- 
utterable, but to-day is the beginning, and the bright- 
ness of to-morrow depends thereon. 

While we do not endorse fully the words of the 
materialist, who thinks one world at a time sufficient, 
ar.d, absorbed in the present, would give no thought 
to thfit life after the fleeting scenes of this are over, 
we joyfully accept the necessity of giving attention 
to the right conduct of the present, in order to reflect 
the best results on the future. To become absorbed 
in the affairs of life, to the exclusion of everything 
else, is to become dwarfed, and all the advantages 
which should accrue are lost. How blighting to spir- 
itual growth is absorption in the business of the world 
is shown by the condition of those who have aged in 
such pursuit. During their early and maturer years, 
when, with selfish scheming, they planned to grasp 
and accumulate, they were regarded by their fellows 
as shrewd and keen of intellect. In age, when they 
no longer engage in business, they have no mentality 
beyond the dreary drudgery of their past lives; no 
purely intellectual incentive, and it is painful to see 
the dim light of their spiritual natures scarcely able 
to penetrate the darkness gathering over their mental 
horizon. "See! see!" exclaims the materialist, "the 
light is going out ! Like the flame of a lamp from 
which the oil is exhausted, soon will it expire!" - 

Sad end of the hopeful promise of a life which 
should be of constant growth. The fact is, the mind 
in such instances does not grow less, it has not grown 
at all in the direction of the intellectual and spiritual. 
Selfish scheming has absorbed all the energies, and 
the man is dwarfed and idiotic on his spiritual side. 



326 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

After the change of death he will be as an imbecile, 
having lost all the advantages earthly life afforded 
him. He has no treasures^ and the awakening of his 
intellect, and the advancement he will make, must 
be slow and uncertain. In the language of the world, 
such a man may have been eminently successful, in 
as much as he has succeeded in grasping a great share 
of wordly possessions, fared sumptuously, and re- 
ceived a homage of retainers; yet' his life has been a 
,dreary failure in all that makes it worth the living. 

On the other hand, as opposing the assertion that 
at death, the end of the individual existence, we ob- 
serve the well ordered mind which, while caring for 
the things of the world, gives attention to its higher 
requirements. When the cares of life fall off, the 
intellect is intensified, and the personality ripens 
and matures in the golden rays of the low western 
sun, in sweetness and unselfish devotion. Humboldt 
may be taken as a typical example. When visited 
by an American admirer in the last years of his un- 
usually long and active life, he was finishing the con- 
eluding volume of his Cosmos, a work in which he 
sought to unitize the infinitely diverging phenomena 
of nature. His limbs were paralyzed, one arm use- 
less, yet his mentality was clear, his disposition as 
sweet and hopeful as in his youth. And he remained 
in this condition to the last moment of his earthly 
existence. While the wordly man cultivates his 
worldly nature, and dwarfs his spiritual, the great 
scientist had unceasingly developed the powers of his 
intellect, and the weakening of bodily powers was 
not reciprocated. Age of the body did not enfeeble 
those high energies, and death only removed them 
to a higher level. He is an example of spiritual cul- 
ture at its highest and best. 

The materialism which would make this world the 
end, and give no thought to the next, is a reaction 
against the old doctrine that the next is everything 
and this a vale of tears and sorrow, to be borne as a 
penance and escaped from with joy. Both views are 
essentially wrong, and, in the words of the Chinese 
sage, the "Golden Mean" is right. We do not gain 
heaven by death, or spiritual life by passing the 
portals of the tomb. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 327 

We enter this world as spiritual entities, and 
heaven and hell, joy or pain, are wrought into our be- 
ing*. To conform to the laws of our constitution is 
obedience to God, and brings the reposeful assurance 
of heaven ; to disregard these brings the lash of pain, 
physical and mental. Understanding that as spirit- 
ual beings, whatever the drudgery of our occupa- 
tions, sowing or reaping, hewing of wood or drawing 
of water, we are in the Courts of Heaven, and by our 
sides, concealed by the thinnest veil of gossamer, are 
the angels, the departed, loving, cherishing, uphold- 
ing, encouraging — the ordering of the conduct of life 
is not to us uncertain. We are to build on earth, but 
to build for heaven. Like the fabled ash in "Norse 
Mythology," this life of ours strikes its roots down 
into the foundations of the earth, and its branches 
arise into the glory of the celestial spheres. 

We are not acting for time, but for eternity, and we 
should consider that every act has a two-fold rela- 
tion : to the present and to the future. Whatever has 
relation to that future being, in developing nobility, 
magnanimity, devotion to right, justice, and truth, 
fraternity, and the love which exceeds understanding, 
reflecting as it must on the character of the present, 
is of infinitely more worth than the fleeting objects 
of the hour. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE OLD RELIGION OF PAIN.-SPIRITUALISM 

THE RELIGION OF JOY. 



I call your attention to a contrast. The belief, old 
as mankind, in the arbitrary rule of the gods on one 
hand, and abject servility on the other. A religion 
which shrouded this life in gloom, draped its festive 
halls with sackcloth, and made pain and grief pass- 
ports to future happiness, I would contrast with 
knowledge which teaches the direct reverse, and 
makes happiness a heritage, and pain a sign of wrong- 
doing. I would contrast the old belief that religion 
must come from without, descending from God, and 
received by Revelation inspired by Him, with the 
new spiritual knowledge which teaches that morality, 
or its form of unselfish devotion to the right called re- 
ligion, is the spontaneous product of progressive 
growth, coming from within, and the inheritance of 
every human being. Having seen what the result of 
the first has been, for the pages of history have re- 
corded it with the heart's blood of nations, we shall 
contrast the results gained by knowledge, material 
and spiritual. The Mother Church enlisted the Mas- 
ters of Art to depict on the glowing walls of its cathe- 
drals, with terrible realism, the symbols of its faith. 
The central and most prominent figure is the cross, 
on which is nailed the Christ in the throes of mortal 
agony. On his face is not depicted the will and pur- 
pose, or self-sustaining conscious strength of" a god; 
not even the resolution and self-sacrifice of a noble 
man. On the contrary, there is the weakness of de- 
feat, the tears of despair, the expression of acknowl- 
edged weakness, and supplication for aid from a su- 
pernatural source. It is an image of resignation, with 
bleeding wounds, tortured face, ashen lips, and the 
pallor of death. By its side is the Madonna, the Vir- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM, 329 

gin Mother, pale with weeping and chastened by dis- 
appointment, until she ceases to repine at the hardest 
blow of fate, and offers no resistance but supplication. 
She is the mother of the dying god of PAIN. 

There are also representations of saints. Canon- 
ized for what ? For their beauty of spirit, their good 
deeds, their sweetness of soul? If so, their portraits 
libel their characters ! Canonized for their hardy en- 
durance of suffering, for their scorn of the pleasures 
held dear to ordinary men, for crucifixion of the body, 
the sustenance of long fasts, or exposure to the in- 
clemency of the weather. Some of them are repre- 
sented in the very act which gave them sainthood. 
One is lacerating his naked shoulders with 
knotted thongs; another is clad in a garment which 
cuts into the flesh; and most horrible, but most holy, 
is one who opens a gaping wound in his own breast, 
and plucks out with gory hands his quivering heart. 
Dreadful to look upon ! The knotted veins of agony, 
the open and distorted mouth, and the blood-dripping 
hands, beholden with unutterable horror and disgust. 
Yet there was a time when the idea of the highest 
duty of life was thus represented, and the whole 
Christian world accepts it to-day, for it is the cardinal 
point of Christian faith. These pictures and images 
symbolize a lesson of duty. Thus should the spirit 
scorn the corrupting flesh! Thus should it triumph 
over its bondage. The more pain inflicted on the 
body the greater the heavenly reward ! Strange be- 
wilderment, which made pain expiatory to the lash 
of the spirit ! Which made it a deposit-in-bank to be 
drawn on in the next life. Then the devotee might 
look with sympathetic eyes on the self -immolating 
saint, and endeavor to spiritually imitate his exam- 
ple; but now the dying saint is a curiosity which 
awakens horror and disgust, and if living would be 
at once consigned to the interior of a madhouse. 

The doctrine of the blessedness of pain, defeat, sor- 
row, and disappointment was taught by the Evangel- 
ists. Suffering was the most feasible method of puri- 
fying the spirit from the sinful contact with the body. 
It was by self-denial of pleasures, desires, and all that 
makes mortal life enjoyable, that heaven was gained ; 



330 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

and in proportion to suffering here would be the joy 
in the hereafter. Jesus, the ideal, was a man of sor- 
row. He often wept, but never smiled. He blessed 
the mourners and those who suffered loss — it was 
their eternal gain. This belief was wrought into 
Christianity, although not peculiar to it, for all sav- 
age people have almost identical conceptions. They 
all accept the belief that man was made, not for his 
own enjoyment, but for the pleasure of God. 

The savage hates rather than loves, and hence the 
early gods are gods of hate, and their anger must 
be propitiated. They demand that which is held 
most dear, which is the greatest sacrifice to give — 
they must have the best; the first of the flocks and 
herds, the first of the harvest or the vintage ; the first- 
born child. The native of Africa knocks out a tooth, 
cuts off a finger, or otherwise mutilates himself, and 
gives the fragment which causes him pain to his god. 
Jephtha gave his daughter, because her loving heart 
expressed its joy by running to meet him ; Abraham 
his son, because his overwhelming love seemed to in- 
vite the command to do so. In exactly the same spirit 
God offers His own first and only son to expiate sin 
and appease his own wrath ! Infinite sin called for in- 
finite suffering, which was experienced by Christ, and 
the devotee may well weep over the crucifix, which 
not only symbolizes the infinite agony of God, but 
his own sin, which made the suffering necessary. 
Mothers, weep as for your own son; and maidens, as 
for your own dearly loved ! He gave his life to annul 
the decrees of death, and his death gave eternal life 
to all mankind who believed! 

Terrible results sprang from this perverted view of 
man and God, and the Christian world for a thousand 
years suffered a nightmare from its theology, which 
enslaved Europe, and, crushing reason, forced its 
mandates by superstition, offspring of ignorance. 
Among savage tribes we meet with the same abject 
fear that the people of Europe exhibited during the 
ages when the Church was supreme. The medicine-man 
has but to mutter a charm, and the whole village will 
be seized with panic. He shakes his calabash rattle, 
and the gods obey him. He wishes to gain the atten- 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 331 

tion of his deity, but it is not with the smiles of joy 
he enters the sanctuary; it is with scarred body and 
with bruised flesh; for the gods love pain and hate 
the happy heart. In that fast expanding civilization 
which the Spaniards found on the western shores of 
America, this had taken most active form, and to 
appease the anger of the gods, and atone for the little 
joy which mere existence bestows, the altars of the 
temples literally flowed with human gore. The 
Aztec army was commissioned to bring yearly scores 
of thousands of prisoners, who were marched in sol- 
emn procession up the winding approaches to the 
altars, and there, stretched over the reeking block, 
the high priest tore the heart of his victim from his 
body and held it up, yet palpitating, for the gods to 
witness. To such an extent had this sacrifice en- 
larged that it seriously affected the population, and 
would have blasted the promises of this budding civ- 
ilization had not the Christian Spaniards blotted it 
out of existence by yet greater cruelty. 

The results of this Religion of Pain, as developed 
in the seething soil of ignorance, form the subject 
of the most revolting narratives in the history of the 
world. God became everything, and man a worm of 
the dust, under the ban of infinite sin and disgrace, 
incomparably, unutterably corrupt, even to the neces- 
sity of God offering His only son on the cross as 
atonement. The least favor from the Almighty was 
granted from pity to subjects who deserved only un- 
alloyed chastisement. Man deserved of himself noth- 
ing but punishment. If he received favor it was an 
undeserved gift. His whole care should be to at- 
tempt to appease his God, by sacrifice as great in his 
sphere as God had already made for him. Was he to 
enjoy the pleasures of life when that God had allowed 
himself to suffer the agonies of death for his sako ? 
Trample the thought beneath the feet of scorn! If 
the world tempt; if the love of home, of wife, of chil- 
dren, of father or mother invite, thrust them aside. 
Abhor riches, hold no thought for the morrow, re- 
nounce everything which yields happiness, and then 
fly to the wilderness, away from the snares of men 
and wiles of women. Assert the power of the spirit 



332 THE ARCANA OP SPIRITUALISM. 

by inflicting the pangs of hunger and thirst, and 
ghastly wounds on the body, for, perhaps, thereby a 
small part of God's sacrifice may be realized. Woman, 
whose heart yearns for the joys of home and loving 
companions, must renounce all in the cell of a con- 
vent, and her brother in the Cloister of a Monaster 
crush the feelings of corrupted nature. This view 
of God and Nature was slightly modified by the re- 
formation, and exists in full force to-day in the Cath- 
olic Church, in the midst of political and religious 
freedom, and making slaves of thousands and tens 
of thousands of men and women. We can appreciate 
the sufferings of a martyr bound to the rack, but the 
sufferings of a woman, enmeshed in ignorance and 
persuaded to take the veil which makes her the bride 
of Christ, the utter loneliness of heart at such living 
death, no one can comprehend. The Protestants 
held the same gloomy views of man's nature and re- 
lation to God, and with them they assumed even 
greater austerity. In the Pilgrims it appears in 
harshest form, blasting the affections, and affecting 
the judgment by the elimination of reason. The only 
happiness the Pilgrims knew was in making them- 
selves miserable. They gloried in the discomfort 
of the body. Their churches were unwarmed, even 
in the coldest winter, and the preachers, drag- 
ging through interminable sermons, preached doc- 
trines glowing with hell fire, and hot enough to warm 
even an iceberg. 

To kiss his wife or child on Sunday; to enjoy the 
frugal meal, or gaze on the loveliness of nature were 
sins. God had set apart Sunday for His own, and as 
a punishment to His children commanded them to 
read the Bible and attend church. The very air be- 
came blue with sanctity, which, had it been analyzed, 
would have resolved itself into a hard, exacting self- 
ishness, so dominated by fear that it would sacrifice 
everything and everybody to make its own election 
sure. And when they read the Bible they turned to 
the wailings and denunciations of the prophets, and 
the sermons blazed with the fires of hell; warnings 
against the devil, and recipes how to escape the wrath 
of God, who was like "a bear that is bereaved of its 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 333 

whelps, and will rend the caul out of their hearts, 
and then devour them like a lion" (Hosea xiii. 8). 
Standing at this distance of almost three centuries, 
we may ask which was the good, which the evil 
Deity? 

The minister then, as God's representative, was the 
one most important personage, who interfered in all 
the affairs of life, from birth to death. Oh ! how 
wonderfully the priest has dissolved and vanished in 
his power. He no longer holds the keys of heaven and 
hell, and his blessings and anathemas are the same. 
Children may be born without the interposition of 
the priests, marriages legalized by civil officers, and 
fear of purgatory need no more trouble the dying. 
In Protestant communities at least, the minister, once 
the leader and self-appointed dictator, has no influ- 
ence conferred by his office, and is respected only for 
his worth as a citizen and a man. In Catholic com- 
munities, with the increase of knowledge, the priest 
is losing ground. Italy, the home of the papacy, has 
passed from theocratic control, and at Rome the Pope 
has no civil influence. 

The Eeligion of Fear has passed like the goblins 
of the night. It frightened the childhood of the race, 
but it has been outgrown. The child is fearful of the 
dark. In the shadows lurk all imaginable shapes and 
horrible fancies. The unseen evil hides itself in the night. 
He buries his head in the covers, and trembling at the 
succession of faces and forms which arise and pass, 
dreams of still more dreadful forms, to awake at last 
to find the sunlight streaming into his room, to hear 
the birds of song, and not a ghost or goblin in all the 
bright world of day. 

Thus it has been with mankind in the night of ignor- 
ance. Creation had no laws, and God ruled by his 
arbitrary will. He was irresponsible, and the god of 
evil was yet more terrible. Superstition settled down 
like a black night, in which mankind was tortured 
by the nightmare of dogmatism. It did not seem 
that the night would ever pass. Theology had civili- 
zation by the throat, strangled, crushed, and the 
people were -her abject slaves, cringing before the 
least of the shaven priests, not only for life in this 



334 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

poor world, but for eternal life in a world seemingly 
existing only that an implacable God might reek His 
infinite vengeance. But the slow morning came. The 
crisis came, and the fevered mind awoke. The sun 
of knowledge poured the full splendor of its rays over 
all the wrold. Poor, frightened, self-doubting hu- 
manity looked out through the bars of its blasting 
creeds and dogmas, which it had been taught ex- 
pressed the will of the Almighty, and saw the bright 
world in grace and beauty; joy everywhere; the sing- 
ing birds in the wind-swept spray, the flocks sporting 
on the grassy hills ; the hum of insect life ; pleasure ; 
happiness ; delight in the very act of living, and not 
a goblin nor a shadow in all the lovely scene ; and 
they who first awoke, perhaps from the fact that they 
suffered most from terror, because most sensitive, 
began to think, which was contrary to the will of 
God's chosen priesthood. Thinking was a capital 
crime, and the thinker was a marplot against whom 
the hatred of men and God was hurled. 

Of the thousands and hundreds of thousands who 
silently perished in dungeon cells, walled into living 
tombs, whose limbs were torn asunder, or were 
burned with the flames which would continue to wrap 
their immortal spirits forever; perishing and giving 
no sign, leaving no name by which we may recall 
their blessed memory, of these we do not know. Not 
until thought began to seethe with a force which 
could throw on its waves men like Galileo or Bruno, 
have we characters sufficiently marked to concen- 
trate our praise. They who led the way, they who 
saw only the dawn, must remain obscure as its twi- 
light. Their suffering was none the less because un- 
known. It was none the less valuable in results be- 
cause unrecorded in story. The agony of one soul 
bound to the torture cannot be appreciated by those 
who have never felt the piercing sting of breaking 
nerve fibres. How then, when multiplied by thou- 
sands and millions'? And this were as nothing when 
compared to the pressure on the minds of whole races 
of the most civilized peoples, age after age ; the press- 
ure of fear, the cringing to asserting authority, the 
subjugation of purity, nobility, and spirituality, to 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 335 

selfishness, lust, and brutality; the constant promo- 
tion of false moral ideas, false views of the world and 
the motives of life, false ideals and incentives to ac- 
tion. 

Truth came, and its coming demanded the blood of 
martyrs. The blind are overcome by the sudden 
light, the starving are often maddened with the food 
that gave them strength. Infallible theology, which 
was the guardian of mankind, resented the coming of 
the thinker. For a thousand years it had occupied 
the spiritual and temporal throne. Its garments were 
thickly encrusted with gore, its horrid hands grasped 
the book from which it claimed the right to govern 
from God, and a sword too well used to rust ; its fangs 
gleamed through its black lips, drawn in the lines of 
hatred and vindictive malice, as it hurled anathemas 
against the body and spirit of those who dared doubt 
or oppose. 

If the dungeon broke not the strength of the doubt- 
ing spirit, the torture might, if long enough con- 
tinued. Galileo, after years of suffering, was brought 
to deny the statement he had made in opposition to 
the Bible, that the world moved. That was the way 
theology established a truth. That is the way it 
saves souls ! Torture the reprobate into a lie ! Into 
hypocritically denying what he knows to be true ! 

Bruno affirmed many principles received by mod- 
ern science. The world moved. It was only one of 
the countless globes which danced to the music of the 
revolving spheres. Horrible infidelity! If Christ 
came to save souls in this world, would he not have to 
do the same in others % If he did not ; if God had cre- 
ated their inhabitants so perfect that such sacrifice 
was not required, why did He not in His omnipotence 
create the people of this in the same perfect manner? 

Such doctrines would destroy the church. They 
must be silenced. But Bruno would not be silent. 
It is difficult for one having the truth to be silent. 
The mighty voice echoes through his soul and rever- 
berates until relief is gained by its utterance. Years 
in a loathsome dungeon could not break his strength. 
The sharp tooth of the torturing pincers, heated to 
seething whiteness, could not compel his recantation, 



336 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

And then theology, to vindicate its right to infalli- 
bility, dragged the greatest thinker of his age before 
a tribunal of shaven priests, and after a mockery of 
justice, to the market square, where amidst the vocif- 
erous herd of men and women it had drugged with 
the poisonous doctrines into frenzy, it sent the noble 
spirit out of the body on the wings of flame. Through 
its black mouth, distorted with rage, it anathematized 
his spirit to eternal hell, and all who favored him to 
the keeping of the Devil. It thought it had truth 
chained on that fagot pile; it had only the helpless 
martyr, Bruno. It did not have even him; it had 
only the poor shell of his body, for the spirit laughs 
at chains, mocks at the hissing flames, and with one 
swift sweep of the pinions of its thought bids defiance 
to the powers of darkness. 

The flames expired, and the howling madmen, hav- 
ing vindicated the religion of pain, went their way, 
but the winds bore the ashes of Bruno over Europe, 
and each grain became a seed of thought. It has re- 
quired three centuries for the slow growth of the 
harvest. The ground was rough, the weeds pre-occu- 
pied the hard soil ;the poisonous nightshade, the nettle, 
the dogweed, the thorn, the spiny burr. Three hundred 
years, and they who had been fed by the truths for 
which Bruno died — fed and stimulated to higher ac- 
tivity — brought back his ashes, each grain a beauti- 
ful block of polished granite, and on the very spot 
where he met his terrible fate, erected a monument 
to his fair fame. Blear-eyed theology, grown tooth- 
less and impotent, growled in rage at the shouts of 
victory from the representative thinkers of the world, 
but awakened no fear. 

The time has passed, we pray forever, when relig- 
ion can be forced on the unbeliever, when to doubt 
is sin, and it is God's grace to force him into acknowl- 
edgment. It was easy making a Christian. There 
were ingenious inventions for the purpose. The re- 
vivalists of those days had more potent arguments 
than the milk-sop stories of Moody, the "come-to- 
Jesus" lays of Sankey, or the genuflexions and sobs 
of a Talmage. They had a little instrument like the 
ends of the fingers of a glove, into each glove finger 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 337 

penetrated a screw. The Ingersoll of those days was 
not allowed a free press and free platform, but in 
silence was brought before the revivalists, not in the 
church, at the anxious seat, before all the people, but 
in the seclusion of a chamber surrounded by thick 
walls, which gave no sound to the outside world. 

"Do you believe that the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost are three, vet one?" asks the revivalist. 

7 * 

"No!"' firmly replies Mr. Ingersoll. "I cannot/ 
deny mathematics. ' ' 

"Mathematics has no place here. Religious faith \ 
does not rest on mathematics. Are we not taught 
by the Fathers that the more impossible a thing may I 
be, the more implicitly should we receive it? Place 
your fingers in this glove, and we will see what God 
will do for you." 

The fingers being thus placed, the screws are gen- 
tly tightened. Their sharp points press into the nails, 
and Mr. Ingersoll 's face blanches with pain. 

"Do you believe?" queries the revivalist. 

' ' No ! " he replies. 

Then the screws are turned slowly but surely down, 
down into the nails, tearing their remorseless way 
into the sensitive nerves, until at last endurance can 
bear no more, and the tortured one cries out: "Yes, 
yes, I believe ! Three times one may be one or twen- 
ty! I believe!" 

"Good!" replies the revivalist in ecstasy, as he 
loosens the screws. "There is a chance of saving 
your soul yet ! There is always hope. But there are 
other acknowledgments to make. Do you believe you 
are a miserable worm, and can only escape death by 
the atoning blood of Jesus Christ?" 

"No!" replies the Ingersoll, decidedly. 

"Well, well, we shall see. We will argue the case," 
and again the screws penetrate the flesh. It is only a 
question of time and pain, and again the tortured 
victim cries out: "Enough! I am all wrong. Burn 
my books, or 111 burn them myself, and take Jesus 
to my soul ! ' ' 

"There is another fundamental belief which you 
have ridiculed and mocked. The Bible is the holy 
and infallible word of God; foundation of law, and 



i i 



338 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

source of governmental authority. Do you believe 
this cardinal point of faith?" 

No ! and I never will say I do ! " 
Aha! we will see. I can convince you in five 
minutes." He turns the screws again. They go -far- 
ther than before; there is a longer interval of wait- 
ing, but at last, with a great groan, the confession is 
made. 

"Yes, I believe the Bible. I denounce my mockery 
of Moses. There are no mistakes in the Bible. I 
take it all, believe it all, just as you interpret it, even 
to Jonah, and I'll not hesitate, whether you read the 
whale swallowed Jonah, or Jonah the whale ; only let 
up on the screws." 

The revivalist laughs in delight as he eases the tor- 
ture, and says: "Now confession is good for the 
soul, and it is well we make a clean breast of it. You 
have spoken in an unbecoming manner of the fall of 
man, on which our religion rests. Do you believe 
in that doctrine now?" 

"If I say I do not, are you to turn down those 
screws ? ' ' 

"Certainly, for now you are so nearly saved ,it 
would be neglecting the duty I owe to my Savior to 
let you be lost ! ' ' 

"Then I believe," replies the Ingersoll, with a 
wince, knowing what will certainly follow if he de- 
nies. "I believe that man is fallen, and, if you de- 
mand it, that he is falling now, and will be forever, 
and if you have me quite saved, please let my fingers 
free from the jaws of this persuader." 

He is freed. He is converted to the true faith and 
saved. 

The missionaries of earlier Christianity employed 
this potent means of converting the pagans, and the 
Spaniards in the New World found the Indians more 
susceptible to torture than the incomprehensible ar- 
gument of dogmatism. It is passing strange the pres- 
ent missionary force allows it to remain unused; If 
the missionaries were properly sustained the heathen 
might be converted as rapidly as they could be caught, 
and a thousand converts enrolled where now there 
are none. 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 339 

Aside from this, the argument of force is far more 
potent and convincing to savages than the doctrine 
of love, which they cannot comprehend. 

Thus far, we have had the Religion of Pain, the 
torture of fear, the slavery of the creature man, the 
autocracy of the tyrant God. It has been the stand- 
ard belief of all races, for its seeds were early sown in 
the mind of the savage, and as he advanced, although 
modified and ever changing, its form has remained 
substantially the same. All religions set out with a 
scheme of cosmology, a world building by God, which 
science has proved erroneous. All employ them- 
selves with the relations between God and man, even 
to the last outgrowth, which resolves God into 
a spiritual essence, vaguely called the universal fa- 
ther, the brotherhood of man, as His children. The 
dogmas which have gathered around these concep- 
tions of God have been discussed from immemorial 
time, and it would be fruitless to pursue the same 
course. 

But we may start in our investigation at a different 
point, and approach from another direction, and, per- 
haps, the face of nature will have a different aspect. 
Coming along the path the theologians have traveled, 
we shall be distracted by the grotesque views of 
creeds and beliefs, once taught as essential to salva- 
tion, which strew the way, and may, perhaps, fall 
into their methods of reviving old ideas into some- 
thing that appears to be living thought, rather than 
discarding the rubbish which has gathered as herit- 
age from ages of ignorance. If we join the crowd 
of theologians we, at best, will attempt a revision 
with the certainty of revision after us until the truth 
is gained. We shall never see the clear sky which 
oversets the landscape of nature, for an eclipse will 
always be on the sun, and its shadow on the world. 

Let us view the world around us and the world 
within us, the world material and the world spiritual, 
as though no sacred book had ever been written, or 
attempt made to fathom the profundity of the ocean 
of spirit and define God. 

There is an interminabe chain of beings from the 
protoplasmic cell to man, teeming in the ocean, in the 



340 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

air, and swarming on the earth. They are all ex- 
quisitely fashioned after the requirements of their 
surroundings, that they may win the largest measure 
of happiness from their lives, however narrow the 
limitation of their sphere. The motto of Nature, to 
which she conforms all her work, is the greatest good 
to the greatest number. There is no punishment in- 
flicted for its own sake. There is no pain that may 
be avoided. Go by field or forest, and the songsters 
of the grove pour forth joy in full-throated measure. 
The morning sun is as bright with gladness as on 
creation's morn; waving trees and carpeting grass, 
patterned with flowers, delighting in filling the air 
with fragrance ; soft skies, warm heat of the south, 
life-giving, joy-filling to all living beings! There is 
not a blot nor a mistake, not a blunder nor a sham 
anywhere. 

We survey all this exquisite loveliness, and turning 
to man, find that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy 
made in the earJy ages by the simple forms of organic 
life. He is not a waif created outside of nature, as 
an after-thought. He is directly allied with the 
realm of life, and the highest expression of organic 
energy on this planet. The great tree of life sends 
its roots down into the strata of the past, and man is 
the mature fruitage of its highest branches. He is 
the concentration and culmination of all conditions 
and influences which have been experienced in all 
these infinite ages of progress. If he were created 
by God, such was the manner of his creation; not by 
falling from perfection, but by progress from the 
lowest organic cell of pre-silurian seas. 

God is removed by the full extent of the laws of 
nature from direct human contact. He is removed 
by the distance of infinitude from finiteness. After 
we solve the problems of the material world, and of 
our own being, we may approach the vestibule of in- 
finitude ; and it is well for us that this is true ; that it 
it not obligatory on us to determine, even by way of 
belief, anything about God. Our thoughts and lives 
can in no way reach Him, and conformity and obe- 
dience to the laws of our being — in other words, the 
determination of right living and the happiness 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 341 

which flows therefrom — are the only obedience and 
worship we can bestow. Anger, revenge, self-asser- 
tion, and hate, then, are more despicable in a God 
than in man. They can form no part of an infinitely 
good being. 

Of the attributes of God we may well cease to argue 
until we shall have come to an understanding of the 
world around us. The theologian who cannot tell 
how a blade of grass grows from the dark turf will 
unhesitatingly explain the nature of God, who not 
only makes a blade of grass grow, but fashions suns 
and worlds, and breathes intelligence into man ! 

The Religion of Joy. — It was necessary when man 
lived in fear of God that he should learn the charac- 
ter of the tyrant he feared. The fear has passed into 
the darkness, and the light shows it to have been a 
chimera. The tales which frightened our childhood 
have become fables. Are we not glad? Glad that 
our children do not cry in affright in their beds at 
the wail of the night winds, in fear of the devil, or 
tremble at the blasting thought of their own deprav- 
ity, and desperate chances of damnation? All have 
passed as horrible dreams, and man sees that he is 
not made for pain, but happiness. Happiness is the 
birthright of every human being, as the song is of 
the bird. Happiness gained by conformity to the 
laws of our being, which is the Religion of Joy. 

We turn over the leaves of the volume of the past, 
and find that man has been a creature of progress, 
and hence has never fallen. He is a continuity of 
the development of the life beneath him; an unfold- 
inent of its lower forms, and not a miraculous or spe- 
cial creation. Hence he cannot be lost from God, or 
stand in need of a special atonement. The future 
life, which has been made the source of punishment 
or reward, follows this existence as its direct se- 
quence. It is the fulfillment of the prophecy of prog- 
ress, its last understandable term. Life is, then, a 
whole. The life here and the life hereafter are bound 
into unity. Death is only the gateway through 
which the spirit passes, and we cry: "Oh! death, 
where is thy sting, oh ! grave, where is thy victory ? ' ' 
The joyful view of life has destroyed the fear of 



342 THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 

death. Its portals wide swung reveal the prolonga- 
tion of our lives unchanged, except as to environ- 
ment. The bottomless pit resolves itself into a figure 
of speech, and its Lord into the impersonation of a 
mistaken idea of evil. Press on, daring soul; the 
skies are clearing, and the terrors in your path are 
only shadows. 

Whatever is natural is right, and whatever is un- 
natural, or against nature, is wrong. It Is not 
whether God will be pleased, but whether the laws 
of our being are complied with. It is not that we 
love God, but do we love our fellow men? For the 
holiest love is that which makes us love others as 
ourselves. There never was a more sacred love of- 
fered to God than that of husband and wife for each 
other; a purer than that for children; a nobler than 
that for mankind, and yet all of these have been 
scorned by the devotees in their intense desire to 
please their Deity. In the beautiful legend of the 
shepherds watching their flocks on the Syrian plain, 
in the still night, with the stars looking down on 
them, the angel voice proclaimed, "Peace on earth 
and good-will to men," the gospel of joy. It has 
taken two thousand years of progress for man to ac- 
quire the knowledge which enables him to understand 
the glad mesage. 

As we survey the history of his advancement, the 
slowly changing forms of his beliefs, by which one 
false conception was replaced by another, one terri- 
ble God by one perhaps more terrible; one absurd 
view of nature by another equally absurd, up to 
the creed revision of the present day, in which con- 
claves of holy men gravely think they can decide 
by their votes the fate of dying heathens, and take 
up or lay down the skulls of unre generated infants 
which pave Satan's dominion, our souls are filled 
with compassion and pity, and we exclaim: Poor 
humanity! full of pain; your journey from the dark- 
ness to the light was beset with death struggles and 
agony ! But like a giant crushed in the net cast over 
you, you have struggled to escape, century after cen- 
tury, a thousand years after a thousand years, gath- 
ering strength and knowledge, and now the strands 



THE ARCANA OF SPIRITUALISM. 343 

are parting and you will be free ! That net was the 
fear of the gods, the Religion of Pain, the doctrine 
of despair, woven by ignorance, cast and drawn 
tightly by superstition! 

We have at last reached the plane where we may 
live for ourselves, and be firmly assured that living 
for ourselves is the best way of living for God. Man 
is created for happiness in this life and the life to 
come; and if there is pain and suffering, they come 
not because he is depraved, or God angry, or pun- 
ishment necessary for revenge, but because the true 
pathway of life is not known; because he is ignor- 
ant, and strays out of it, and meets the thorns which 
guard its either side. 

The hosts emancipated have brought the glad 
knowledge to us, the reception of which has required 
the past ages of progress, and brushed away the last 
lingering shreds of dogmatism and man-made theol- 
ogy. Their coming glorifies even death itself, by 
writing over its shining archway, ''Immortality, by 
realization of the possibilities latent in every human 
spirit." 

Their coming redeems this life from being a state 
of probation, distinct from the next, and shows us 
that it is the first state of that existence, an insepara- 
ble part of it. Hence we are spirits, the same as we 
shall be after death, except our connection with the 
body; we are in the Spirit-world now, and as spirits 
with incomprehensible possibilities, should put forth 
all efforts to perfect ourselves on the plane of spirit- 
ual progress, and at every step will be a new-found 
joy. Self-contained, conscious of increasing strength, 
we rise from plane to plane, with horizon expanding 
in widening sweep, giving clear views of nature, and 
the relations of spirit. 

Worship will be to know. Light will answer the 
demand of prayer, and its coming will drive dark- 
ness, despair, grief, and mourning from the heart. 
Religion will be the joy of life in its full fruition, 
gained by perfect knowledge, which will preserve the 
individual in harmony with the whole. 

Finis. 



ft GLOSSARY OP TERMS 

PERTAINING TO 

Spiritualism and Psychic Science. 



There are many new words introduced by Spiritualism, 
and old words have been given new meanings. Not a little 
obscurity has resulted from the loose manner in which these 
are used. The following list, which is by no< means exhaust- 
ive, contains the most important words, with their legitimate 
meanings : 

Altruism: A term first coined by Comte, expressive of the 
theory that the duty of each is to all, and that by doing for 
others in preference to self, the highest good and happi- 
ness is attained. Its most perfect expression is in the 
Golden Rule of Spiritualism, "Do all for others." 

Animal Magnetism: Another name for mesmerism or hypno- 
tism. 

Aurar Nerve-aura, spirit-aura. An influence supposed to be 
thrown out from the nervous system, and to surround 
every individual as an atmosphere. 

Automatic Writing: Writing executed by the hand, independ- 
ent of the will, presumably by the independent intelli- 
gence or spirit. If this be the presumptive, the term is 
misleading and unwarrantable. If it is spirit-control, it is 
in no sense automatic; and if really automatic, it must be 
concluded that the hand, independent of the mind, has in- 
telligence, and often of a superior and astonishing degree. 
In automatic writing the subject may be entirely uncon- 
scious of what the hand is writing, or he may be more or 
less fully conscious of the ideas before writing. A division 
may be made into independent and conscious. A test of 
this phase may be made by standing by a table with a pen- 
cil in the fingers, the arm being held almost perpendicular 
to the surface of the same, on which paper is placed. The 
whole arm should then be perfectly lax, and allowed to 
yield to the slightest influence. 

Braidism: Hypnotism. 

Catalepsy: A state of suddenly suspended vital functions, in 
which it is impossible to move. The term has been given 
a new meaning, the cataleptic state being used as synony- 
mous with the hypnotic or mesmeric. The two are en- 
tirely distinct in their causes and manifestations, and 
should not be confounded by use of misleading terms. 

Charming: Fascination; mesmerism. 



A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 345 

Christian Science: The application of this term is peculiar, 
inasmuch as the matter to which it is applied is not Chris- 
tian in the received sense of that word, and the methods 
employed are the very reverse of scientific. It affirms that 
God is all in all, and man being a part of God, and God be- 
ing incapable of sickness, there can be no reality in dis- 
ease or evil of any kind. Consequently Christian Science 
is a series of denials as well as affirmations. It surrepti- 
tiously brings hypnotism to its aid, and accepts a good 
share of Spiritualism. In fact, all that is valuable in 
Christian Science, in Mind Cure, and Metaphysics, is taken 
from Spiritualism, and what is not thus taken is of no 
value. 

Clairaudient: Clear hearing; the faculty of hearing voices or 
sounds, independent of the physical ear. 

Clairvoyance: Clear-seeing; a sensitive state, of all degrees 
of acuteness, from that wherein the personality predomi- 
nates and modifies the perception, to that wherein the 
mind is independent of the physical body and its surround- 
ings, and is in direct contact with superior intelligences. 
This last phase of clairvoyance is often seen in the dying, 
death being the separation of the spirit from the body. 

Clairvoyant: One endowed with the faculty of clairvoyance. 

Cosmism: Belief that the universe, material and spiritual, 
form a unit, the All in All. 

Dematerialize: The dissolving of a materialized form. 

Demon: A spirit holding an intermediate, place between man 
and the gods. They were good and evil. The word is 
wrongly translated in the Bible as devil, and its use in the 
New Testament has given the modern meaning an evil 
spirit. 

Demoniac: A human being obsessed by a demon. 

Diakka: A word first used by A. J. Davis to designate unde- 
veloped, ignorant, mischievous, and evil spirits. 

Double: Double presence; the appearance of an individual at 
a distance from his physical body. 

Dunamize: To mesmerize. 

Ether — Psychic: A universally diffused medium similar to 
that of light, in and by means of which psychic influences 
are propagated. Its existence is proven by the harmony It 
introduces among the most diverse phenomena. It is su- 
perior to the laws of gravitation and physical conditions, 
and hence all manifestations therein are amenable to phys- 
ical laws or forces. Out of it comes life, and hence it has 
been termed Psycho-ether and Zoether, the life ether. 

Etherealization: The correct word for materialization, which 
conveys an erroneous idea of the method by which spirits 
may become visible to mortal sight. 

Etherology: A treatise on mesmerism. This use of the 
word is unjustifiable. 

Evergumen: One possessed by an evil spirit. Used in his- 
tory of early Christian church. 



346 A GLOSSARY OF TERMS- 

Evolution: The theory that all forms of life on this earth 
are united by common parentage, and evolve by the ac- 
cumulation of beneficial changes. 

Fascination: The same as mesmerism, but undesirable, be- 
cause suggestive of the influence serpents are supposd to 
excite over birds, etc. 

Force: The energy which is cognizable to our senses through 
and by means of vibrations or waves which are included in 
the general term of motion. 

Hallucination: A false perception without any material 
basis, being formed entirely in the mind. 

Hypermesia: Fuller memory; quickening of the mind 
through its sensitiveness. 

Hyperoethesia: Keener sensibility; sensitiveness. 

Hypnotic: Subject to hypnotism; the recipient. 

Hypnotic State: State induced by hypnotism. It is readily 
divisible into two stages. In the first the subject is not 
unconscious, and is controlled by the "dominant idea." 
The second is a profound state, resembling clairvoyance or 
trance, in which memory is lost, and the mind becomes in- 
dependent of the operator and of surrounding conditions. 

Hypnotism: M. Charcot, who claims to have founded the sci- 
ence of hypnotism, says it is a diseased state of the soul. 
Prof. Bernheim says it is "a peculiar psychical condition 
which can be provoked artificially, and which to a varying 
degree augments suggestibility." Dr. Forel says it is "the 
idea of suggestion." Dr. Luys says: "It is an experi- 
mental, extra-physiological state of the nervous system." 
All these definitions but repeat each other. It is a strictly 
normal state, maybe spontaneous or induced, and is the 
activity of the spiritual being more or less freed from the 
limitations of the physical body. It is a composite state, 
and it may be divided into three ascending stages — hyp- 
notic, somnambulic and clairvoyant. By mesmerism all 
these stages may be induced, and the mesmeric state is 
equivalent to them all. Hypnotism would seem to apply 
to a state wherein suggestion dominated, and mesmerism 
to a broader state wherein suggestion is not apparent. 
The words are used indiscriminately and confusingly. 

Hypnotist, Hypnotizer: The operator; one who practices 
hypnotism. 

Illusion: A deceptive appearance. Illusion differs from hal- 
lucination in always being produced by a real object, 
which appears differently from what it is, while the latter 
is entirely a creation of the imagination, without external 
cause. 

Impersonation: The control of the medium in such a manner 
by a spirit as to represent the appearance, character, dis- 
ease, etc., of that spirit. 

Levitation: The lifting or movement of physical bodies with- 
out visible means, or contact, in defiance of gravitation. 

Magic: Divided into white and black. Is the supposed 
power to evoke the assistance of spirits, or superhuman 



A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 347 

beings, to work wonders. In white magic good beings are 
called for good works ; in black magic, or gestic magic, the 
assistance of demons is invoked. Celestial magic asserts 
that the planets are controlled by spirits, and these have 
influence over mankind. 

Materialize: The act of a spirit clothing itself with matter. 
This word is so expressive that it has become of general 
use, with a wide range of meanings, and yet it conveys an 
•entirely erroneous idea of the method by which spirit be- 
comes visible to mortal sight. 

Materialization: The appearance of a spirit in tangible, bod- 
ily form, differing from an apparition, which is supposed 
to be intangible. 

Materializing Medium: One through whom the phenomena 
of materialization occur. 

Matter: The matrix through and by which force is expressed, 
and of which all that is known,, or cah be known, is from 
the impressions of such force on the senses. 

Medium: One who bv sensitiveness is able to communicate 
with departed spirits. 

Mentiferous: Conveying or transferring mind or thought; 
telepathic. As "mentiferous ether." (Century Diction- 
ary.) 

Mesmerism: A term which has been loosely used, with a 
wide range of meaning. With Mesmer it meant the influ- 
ence gained by one person over another by means of 
passes, dominating the will of the subject. 

Mesmeromania: Mesmerism regarded as a mania, or de- 
lusion. (Century Dictionary.) 

Mesmeromaniac: Mesmeric subject. 

Metaphysics: Is similar to Christian Science, differing mainly 
in dropping the Christian nomenclature. In no sense is it 
metaphysical, except, perhaps, in the obscurity of its affir- 
mations. All diseases are mental, and must be dealt with 
on the mental and moral planes. 

Metapsychosis: The supposed action of one mind on another 
without any known physical means of communication or 
its effects. 

Metapsyche: The back brain. (Haeckel.) 

Mind Cure: Is nearly identical with metaphysics, but per- 
haps gives hypnotism a more conspicuous place (See 
Christian Science.) 

Mind-Reading: Reading the thoughts of another by impress- 
ibility. 

Neurology: A treatise on mesmerism. As this word has 
been employed in an entirely different sense, its use with 
this meaning is not justifiable. 

Neurohypnology: Mesmerism; hypnotism. 

Neurypnology: A term given by Baird, in his treatise on 
that subject, meaning hypnotism. 

Obsession : The taking possession of a human being by a 
spirit. In a stronger sense, the dispossession of the right- 
ful spirit of its body, and using the body as if it wire that 



348 A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 

of the obsessing spirit. The "Watseka Wonder" was a re- 
markable instance of obsession by a well-intentioned spirit 
intelligence. 

Occult: Mysterious, concealed — because applied to the magic 
of the past; its use, in descriptions of modern psychic phe- 
nomena, is misleading, and it should not be employed. 

Od, or Odyllic Force: The force Baron Reichenbach thought 
he discovered in magnets, crystals, etc., of influencing sen- 
sitives. 

Pathetism: Healing by the use of hypnotism or mesmerism. 

Percipient: The psychic or mesmeric subject; the sensitive 
under experiment. 

Phenomena, Objective and Subjective: Subjective phenom- 
ena are such as have no tangible existence; being impres- 
sions so vivid they seem realities. The suggestions made 
by the operator on the hypnotized are examples. Object- 
ive are such as have a real existence, outside the mind. 

Physical Medium: One who receives manifestations in which 
physical matter is acted on by force beyond his control. 

Planchette: An instrument for communicating with the 
spirit-world. It consists of a thin, heart-shaped piece of 
wood, mounted on two pantagraph castors, and carrying a 
pencil for the third point of support. The hand is placed 
on this, and the pencil writes automatically, or presum- 
ably by spirit control. 

Pre-existence: The belief that the spirit is an eternal crea- 
tion, and enters the physical body at conception to be 
clothed in flesh. Held by Pythagoras, Plato, Philo, Ori- 
gen, and in modern times by Kant, Shelling, Dr. Edward 
Beecher, and the Theosophists. A less accepted theory is 
that all human spirits were created in the beginning, and 
at conception one of these spirits joins a physical body. 

Premonitions: Impressions of coming events, received by 
though transference from some mortal or spirit. 

Psychic: One sensitive to psychic influence. A medium 
must be a psychic, but a psychic may not be a medium. A 
somnambulist, a mesmeric or hypnotic subject is a psy- 
chic, the word covering the whole field of sensitiveness, 
while a medium is one who has that degree of sensi- 
tiveness which can be controlled by spiritual beings. 

Psychic Ether: An ether similar to light-ether. Pervading 
all space, which transmits thought by waves, as the light- 
ether transmits light. (See Thought- Atmosphere.) 

Psychic Force: An influence not physical, capable of causing 
phenomena referred to Spiritualism. The name was given 
by Prof. Crookes in 1897. 

Psychic Medium: One receiving communications through 
the mind or spiritual sensitiveness. 

Psychic Research: Research by experiment and observation 
into the phenomena with phenomena which may be con- 
nected with, another world, or with faculties hitherto un- 
known. 

Psychic Science: The science of spirit. The term covers the 
new field of research, in which actual observation* after 



A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 349 

£he methods of physical experimentation, takes the place 
of speculation and metaphysical contention of the old 
school of psychology. 

Psychodunamy: A word introduced by Leger as a substitute 
for mesmerism. 

Psychograph: An instrument being a modified form of the 
dial employed by Prof. Robert Hare in his remarkable in- 
vestigation of the phenomena in the early days of Spirit- 
ualism. It is formed of a rotating disc, carrying an index 
over the alphabet. The finger tips of the medium are 
placed on the disc. In his experiments it gave wonderful 
results. 

Psychography: Writing, independent of and without mortal 
contact, impliedly by spiritual beings; as used by some 
Italian writers; a writing medium. 

Psychometry: the name given by Prof. J. R. Buchanan to 
his discovery that sensitives were influenced without di- 
rect contact by drugs, minerals, etc., and were able to read 
the characters of the writers from letters held in the hand 
or placed on the forehead. This influence has been found 
to be universal. 

Psychometrist: One sensitive to such influences. 

Receptivity: A state of mind favorable to impressions, either 
the result of passiveness, concentration, or intense atten- 
tion. 

Reincarnation: The belief that the spirit passes through suc- 
cessive births until freed from the rtains of earth by expia- 
tion; an old belief which has been revived and made a 
fundamental statement in the teachings of Kardec and his 
followers. 

Second Sight: Clairvoyance. 

Sensitive.. A: One capable of receiving impressions. 

Sensitiveness: Impressibility; the mental state in which im- 
pressions are received from other minds. It may be nor- 
mal, or induced by fatigue, disease, drugs, or may arise in 
sleep. It may have all degrees of acuteness, from that in 
which impressions are difficult to distinguish from the nor- 
mal thought, to independent clairvoyance. It is a quality 
belonging to all, varying in degree, and capable of culti- 
vation. 

Sixth Sense: The capability for spiritual perception; sensi- 
tiveness ; the state of the hypnotic or psychic. This sense 
is really composite, being formed of the blended spiritual 
perceptions more or less awakened. 

Somnambulism: Sleep-waking, seep-walking. The physical 
senses are dormant, and the psychic or spiritual senses 
dominant. Has been used in place of mesmerism or hyp- 
notism. 

Somnambulist: One subject to sleep-walking. 

Soul: In the old division of body, soul, and spirit, soul has no 
meaning except as one factor of the trinity which was 
sought to be established. Man is dual — a physical body 
and a spirit The spirit is the spiritual form or body, with 



350 . A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 

its accompanying conscious intelligence. If soul means 
anything it is exactly this, and is synonymous with it. 

Spirit: The old definition is an imponderable, intangible 
nothing, capable of thinking and feeling, and God-created, 
by miracle. The new definition makes it created and sus- 
tained by law. It is a celestial or spiritual body, originated 
in and sustained by the physical body, from which it is 
separated by death, to go forward the same entity, in per- 
fect and complete continuity of existence. The celestial 
or spiritual body is composed of attenuated matter, not 
recognizable by any of the physical senses. It is organ- 
ized, and has as real an existence amidst spiritual things 
as it had in mortal life. 

Spiritism: Often used synonymous with Spiritualism, but 
really having a widely different meaning. As received by 
the Latin or Kardec school, it means the acceptance of the 
doctrine of reincarnation as a cardinal principle. The 
term has also been used to designate those who demand 
phenomena as a test, rather than the philosophy of spirit. 

Spiritist: One who accepts the doctrine of Spiritism; one 
who seeks and is satisfied with phenomena, rather than 
the scenes of spirit life. 

Spiritual ism: The belief in the continuity of life after death, 
and its continual progress, and the application of this be- 
lief to the right conduct of living. Modern Spiritualism 
stands for the supremacy of the law, in the realm of spirit 
as the physical. The departed are near, and communicate 
with their earth friends, not by permission but by law. It 
is the Science of life, and a religion which, inasmuch as it 
would build up the moral character on the foundations of 
knowledge, and is satisfied only with the attainment of 
perfect excellence, is superior to all others. 

Spiritualist: One who believes in Spiritualism. 

Subliminal Self: A certain part of our being, conscious and 
intelligent, into which our ordinary waking state does not 
rise: the spiritual. 

Telekinetic: A theory to account for the moving of phys- 
ical bodies without physical contact, by some unknown 
force originating in the minds of the sitters, as opposed to 
the spiritual theory. 

Telepathy, or Thought Transference: The transmission of 
thought from one mind to another without tangible or 
physical means. This occurs without regard to distance, 
and is referred to waves sent out from one mind to an- 
other through the psychic ether. 

Telo-Aesthesia: Clairvoyance. 

Theosophy: The definition of this term given by H. P. Bla- 
vatsky is "Wisdom Religion, or Divine Wisdom; the sub- 
stance and basis of all the world religions and philoso- 
phies, taught and practiced by a few elect ever since man 
became a thinking being." To this exceedingly abstract 
definition must be added the doctrines of reincarnation, 
the brotherhood, etc., the conjecture of ages long since 
past 



A GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 351 

Thought-Atmosphere: Same as psychic ether. A thinking 
being in this atmosphere is a pulsating center of thought- 
waves, as a luminous body is of waves of light. 

Trance: When persons fall into a sleep resembling death', in 
which they may or may not be conscious, it is said they 
have fallen into a trance. This is not a correct use of the 
term. If in this state, resembling death, their spiritual 
perception or sensitiveness is quickened, and they per- 
ceive thereby, then it may be truly safS they are en- 
tranced. The trance thus denned is similar to clair- 
voyance. 

Transfiguration: Transformed, as when the medium takes 
on the appearance of the communicating spirit. The ex- 
pression of the spirit when it transcends the body, as in 
clairvoyance, and sometimes at the moment of death. 

Visions: A term of wide meaning. In the sense derived 
from the Scriptures, a revelation or supernatural appear- 
ance. The state in which these are received may arise 
from physical or mental derangement or exhaustion. They 
may be simple phantasms, or impressions received from 
other intelligences. 

Zoether: Neur-aura, nervous fluid. Supposed to hold the 
same relation to spirit that the ether of gravitation does 
to matter. 




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